CJ Rice exonerated after more than ten years in prison

Just over a decade ago, a Philadelphia man was found guilty of against the law despite the fact that his own doctor testified that he was physically unable to perform the shooting as a result of a severe pelvic injury.

According to The New York Times, CJ Rice was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison for the Philadelphia shooting that injured 4 people. However, Rice’s charges have now been dropped in reference to the crime for which he was convicted in 2013 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

His overturning of his conviction and the state’s subsequent decision to not retry him on the fees represent the culmination of a long-running legal battle and reveal how ineffective legal representation can corrupt the administration of justice. The case gained national attention after CNN correspondent Jake Tapper was notified about it by his father, Dr. Theodore S. Tapper.

Dr. Tapper, who was Rice’s pediatrician in 2011, testified that Rice, then 17, was physically unable to perform the 2011 shooting as a result of a previous shooting incident that left him with a shattered pelvis, severely limiting his mobility. How reported via CNN.

His journey toward justice began in 2016, when Rice sought Dr. Tapper’s help in obtaining medical records related to his previous shooting that weren’t produced at trial. These files provided key evidence proving Rice’s innocence by demonstrating his physical incapacity to commit the crime of which he was accused.

“Personally, I’m glad this is wrong and corrected,” Rice told CNN in an exclusive interview after being released from prison after his conviction was overturned. “You can’t call it a mistake. Because the Pennsylvania judicial system has had to correct this particular situation at least five times and has chosen not to act in the interest of justice.”

According to the district attorney, a shooting occurred in September 2011 on the family home in Point Breeze, which injured 4 people: a young man, his mother, his sister and his cousin. Witnesses claim that the shooting involved two or three hooded gunmen who fled the scene on foot.

Rice had known the victims for years. He was named a suspect shortly after the incident based on an anonymous tip received by police, after which considered one of the victims named him because the shooter. At the time of the shooting, Rice was having trouble moving as he recovered from injuries he suffered in one other shooting several weeks earlier.

Rice told CNN: “Either the Court did not hear the case because the public trust gave it the opportunity to do so, or the Pennsylvania courts heard the case and chose to allow the clear injustice to continue as long as no one else knew what was happening. For this reason, the Pennsylvania court system is condemnable and untrustworthy. However, my attention goes out to every prosecutor, state, prosecutor, Commonwealth that keeps an innocent person behind bars, let them free!”

Rice’s reversal of fortune comes consequently of wrongful convictions, which proceed to be a major problem in the United States, especially amongst black men. As of 2023, the National Registry of Exonerations recorded over 3,000 cases of wrongful convictions per yr in the United States report by the US Department of Justice.

Or fairly, separate report conducted by researchers on the University of Michigan Law School and others found that black Americans are disproportionately affected by wrongful convictions.

According to the report “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022,” which analyzed the cases of three,200 innocent defendants acquitted in the U.S. since 1989, the report revealed that African Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be falsely convicted of great crimes. Blacks account for 53 percent of acquittals.

As for Rice, he eventually got a brand new attorney, who then filed a habeas corpus lawsuit in December 2022, arguing that Rice’s previous defense attorney had incompetently stipulated that he would present evidence falsely implicating Rice in the shooting, ABC News in Philadelphia reported. This later led to Judge James Eisenhower granting a motion to overturn his conviction. This week, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office told the court that each one charges against Rice had been dropped.

After an intensive investigation, the sentencing review board really useful that the case be thrown out, citing insufficient evidence to persuade the jury of Rice’s guilt beyond an affordable doubt.

“What probably led to his conviction was the fact that his defense counsel was so ineffective,” a source from the district attorney’s office told CNN, confirming lapses in the case handled by earlier prosecutors. Rice expressed relief and gratitude, stating, “Personally, I’m glad this wrong has been righted.”