An Innocent Man on Death Row! Who’s to Blame for the Wrongful Conviction of Jimmy Dennis?
Jimmy Dennis describes the 25 years he spent on death row for a Philadelphia murder he didn't commit, the police and prosecutorial corruption he says convicted him, and his return to music and advocacy after his 2017 exoneration.
About This Episode
In 1992, singer-songwriter Jimmy Dennis was wrongfully convicted of murder. He was sent to death row for 25 years until his 2017 exoneration. Miraculously, he avoided execution. Who’s to blame for this atrocity? A corrupt Philadelphia police department. Prosecution that destroyed evidence. A fundamentally broken criminal justice system. How do we repair a structure that often administers law, but not always justice?
Show Notes
- Jimmy’s background
- Welcoming today’s guest, Jimmy Dennis
- You were a musician, a singer in the early 90’s in Philadelphia… tell us about your life before you were wrongfully incarcerated?
- Jimmy discusses former systemic Philadelphia police corruption and destruction of evidence that affected his case
- The same police officers in Jimmy’s case acted similarly to more than twenty other death row inmates
- Nothing tied you to this murder. You had a solid alibi, the dozens of witnesses were coerced, there was no evidence. Witnesses said the perpetrator was 5’10” and you’re 5’4.”
- Were you ever in the system before this?
- You had a hired attorney who did not provide a good defense for you… Did you know this was happening as it happened?
- Tell us about the three eyewitnesses at trial who were coerced into giving false testimony. How did that feel to have them point at you?
- How did your lawyer do with cross-examining these people?
- Tell us about the missing welfare receipt that proved your innocence. What is a welfare receipt?
- How did your new lawyer find that receipt in 1998?
- Did anything happen to the police officers or prosecutor who destroyed the evidence, was there any discipline?
- If all of us want to a fair and just society, we need to advocate for discipline for corrupt prosecutors and police.
- What was it like spending 25 years on death row for a crime you didn’t commit?
- Over those 25 years… what was the delay in your execution?
- You mentioned the support you received from around the world, Susan Sarandon, Ed Asner, and others… to rely on celebrity attention for a desired outcome is not easy, is it?
- If you were a juror on your trial, would you have convicted yourself?
- Have you ever talked to any of the jurors?
- A jury member has a duty to listen to the evidence and listen to it properly
- All of this new evidence that exonerated you was hidden and appeared years later… based on the incomplete picture the jury was presented, do you blame them?
- How old are you now? Tell us about your family situation now.
- How’s your relationship with your daughter who was born while you were incarcerated? Were you able to mend it?
- You’re back to creating music — let’s take a listen to your song, Hate the Skin I’m In feat. Gwen Jackson, available on all platforms. Can you tell us about it?
- What’s the future for you and music?
- Check out Jimmy’s YouTube channel!
- The federal court said you were innocent and released you once you signed a no-contest plea waiving any wrongful compensation money. That would have been millions of dollars. You chose to sign it rather than subject yourself to a retrial. Is that correct?
- Jimmy explains that although he has PTSD, he uses his energy to fight for justice.
- Thank you to our guest, Jimmy Davis
- We hear so many cases of wrongful convictions, and Jimmy’s is another one that proves our criminal justice system needs significant change.
- Thank you for watching and listening to Open Mike!
FAQs
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What crime was Jimmy Dennis wrongfully convicted of?
Jimmy Dennis was convicted in 1992 of the murder of a 17-year-old girl who, as Mike Morse summarized, was robbed of her earrings and shot in the neck in Philadelphia. Dennis said witnesses described the perpetrators as 5’10” to 6 feet tall, 180 to 200 pounds and dark-skinned, while he is 5’4″ and weighed only 125 pounds at the time. Mike noted that no physical evidence tied Dennis to the murder.
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What evidence does Jimmy Dennis say police and prosecutors hid?
Dennis said police took a time-stamped welfare receipt from an acquaintance he saw after they got off a bus, told her she had misread the time, threatened her into testifying to a later time, and made the receipt disappear until a lawyer he hired found it in 1998. He also said DNA evidence was destroyed, a signed-out homicide file with other people’s confessions never came back, and clothing that didn’t fit him was never tested and disappeared before trial.
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How was Jimmy Dennis finally released from prison?
Mike Morse summarized, and Dennis said he had it “kind of right,” that after a federal court found Dennis innocent and told prosecutors to release or retry him, they offered to let him go home immediately if he took a no-contest plea. Dennis said his mother’s illness, his father’s death and the prospect of a U.S. Supreme Court appeal factored in. He said his innocence was read into the record, words referring to guilt were redacted, and he signed nothing giving up a lawsuit.
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What has Jimmy Dennis done since his exoneration?
Dennis said he is writing and producing music again, including “Hate the Skin I’m In,” which he wrote about police brutality and which says Black people are a beautiful, resilient race that can overcome anything. He is also working on several innocence cases in Philadelphia, trying to help men he calls innocent get out of prison.
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What change does Jimmy Dennis believe is needed in the justice system?
Asked whether the officers or prosecutors in his case were ever disciplined, Dennis said no, calling it a common theme of zero accountability. He said people who want a fair and just society must advocate for police and prosecutors to be locked up and for laws to be passed, rather than “a band-aid with a memorandum” or a fake policy, and he rejected the focus on police training.
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