Former Philadelphia Detectives Charged for Black Man's Wrongful Conviction

By Alyssa Wilson Published: August 18, 2021

Former Philadelphia Detectives Charged for Black Man’s Wrongful Conviction

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By: Alyssa Wilson
WARNING- This story contains information about violent crimes including rape & murder.

Three former Philadelphia detectives have been charged with perjury and false swearing in connection to a 1991 rape and murder case.

According to a statement released by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Manuel Santiago, Martin Devlin and Frank Jastrzembski face arrest and prosecution for the wrongful conviction of Anthony Wright.

“The 31st Philadelphia County Investigating Grand Jury has heard evidence and has issued a presentment in which they recommend criminal prosecution of three former Philadelphia Police Homicide Detectives for lying in 2016 both in and out of court about their on-duty roles in the investigation, interrogation, and wrongful conviction of an innocent man, Anthony Wright, which occurred in 1993,” the statement read.

Wright was convicted for the 1991 rape and murder of 77-year-old Louise Tally based on a false confession coerced by Santiago and Devlin, the District Attorney said. The conviction was also based on Jastrzembski’s false testimony about the location of clothing he claimed he found during a search of Wright’s bedroom. His statement was a lie, and the clothing was found in the victim’s home.

“According to the presentment, Wright, then 20 years old, repeatedly told detectives he had no involvement or knowledge of the crime, and spent hours repeatedly crying for his mother, who he could hear outside the interrogation room screaming for him,” the District Attorney’s statement said.

Santiago and Devlin allegedly coerced Wright to sign a false confession to the rape and murder, which he did not know the details of. The interrogation by the two detectives was not recorded.

A grand jury found that the detectives used illegal tactics as part of the coercion, which included threatening to “pull his eyes out and skull-f— him.” They also told him he could go home if he signed the confession.

Decades after Wright’s conviction, DNA evidence cleared him of any wrongdoing and identified the real perpetrator as Ronnie Byrd, who had died. Despite this, Wright was retried in 2016, and the three detectives gave sworn testimony against Wright.

The former detectives face several counts of perjury and false swearing for false testimony for coercing Wright to sign a confession and for their involvement in the 2016 retrial and 2017 deposition. The District Attorney’s Office said, “This is an open and active criminal investigation, and the cases will be tried by the District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit and Special Investigations Unit.”

If you or someone you know is struggling from trauma triggered by this story, resources are available here.