It’s been several years since Jimmy Dennis, known to his fellow denizens of death row as Shorty, was granted a new trial by U.S. Federal District Court. In that case, in 2013, Judge Anita Brody granted Shorty’s writ of habeus corpus, ordering a new trial or his release from custody in 140 days. The DA [District Attorney] of Philadelphia went into a prosecutorial rampage, and the three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and reinstated his conviction and death sentence. Again, Shorty awaited his fate, and just hours ago the full appellate court, in a rare en banc decision, reinstated his writ of habeus corpus and reopened the door to his freedom. To do so, the court had to find that the DA used false testimony to send Shorty to death row to secure an unjust conviction and for their political ambitions. Shorty was convicted of killing an attractive young high school student, in view of some half a dozen witnesses. The problems with this conviction were many, but among them a credible alibi defense, meaning he wasn’t at the crime scene, and to his nickname, which was demonstrative of his modest height. Most eyewitnesses to the killing and robbery described an assailant over a foot taller than Shorty. This was noted because the victim was a relatively tall woman, noticeably taller than Shorty.
Oh, that alibi; Shorty told investigators that he saw an acquaintance of his on a bus in another part of town at the time of the killing, around 1pm or so. The woman reported to police that she saw Shorty as she got on the bus. She showed police her receipt from the welfare office. The receipt showed she arrived there around 1pm. Here’s the problem: when the woman testified, she was asked about 1300 hours, or military time. Not understanding that 1300 hours means one o’clock, the prosecutor got her to say the time was around 3 pm, a time that the receipt didn’t show. The court en banc majority, nine judges, voted to grant the writ and ordered a new trial. Four judges opposed. Jimmy Shorty Dennis, after 25 years on death row, is closer to home and to his long walk to freedom. From in prison nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
