PHILADELPHIA, PA - The man who was charged and convicted of killing an off-duty Philadelphia police officer back in 2007 has had his conviction overturned and will soon be released from prison. Mumin Slaughter has had his case overturned.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a judge has ruled that the prosecutors in the case improperly withheld evidence in which a key witness allegedly said that police detectives pressured her to lie. The witness, who was said to be a prostitute and drug user, wrote to then-District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham and trial prosecutor Carlos Vega to say she had been coerced into providing a false statement by detectives.
That witness added that she had further been induced by Vega, who she claims had promised her money, drug treatment, and cosmetic dentistry. Prosecutors said that those letters, which were sent before the trial began and could have been crucial to attacking the witness' credibility, were never disclosed to the lawyers of the defendant.
On Monday, June 17th, Common Pleas Court Judge Scott DiClaudio said that the "magnitude of that indiscretion was so obvious." He then agreed to overturn Slaughter's conviction and prosecutors said that they would not seek to retry him. While in the courtroom, Slaughter's wife, Nefertiti Savoy-Slaughter said that the relief of this decision "has been a long time coming." She added, "I'm just so happy that the decision was finally made."
Vega did not agree with the decision. In an interview, he denied that he had ever introduced a witness or withheld relevant evidence. He also said that during the appeals process, the District Attorney's Office did not allow him to review the case file before deciding to advocate for Slaughter's release.
He did not know about Monday's hearing and said that he was "deeply saddened and disappointed" by the outcome. Vega said, "A police officer lost his life. There's a widow. He left a son and the evidence is overwhelming." According to reports, this new development in Slaughter's case comes a year after his co-defendant, William Johnson, was released due to the same set of circumstances.
Both Slaughter and Johnson had been convicted of fatally shooting Officer Terence V. Flomo on August 26, 2005. At the time, Flomo was an undercover narcotics officer. At the time of his death, he left behind his wife and four children.
At the trial, the prosecutor's theory was that Flomo, while off-duty, had driven to 20th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue around 2:00 a.m. and had spoken to two women who were known drug users and who were out on the streets engaging in prostitution. They said that at that time, Johnson and Slaughter had fired into his car, killing him.
There were no family members for Flomo, present during the hearing on Monday, June 17th. Assistant District Attorney Zachary Green said they told prosecutors that they did not want to attend. Later that afternoon, Mary Flomo, the officer's widow, said that her family has felt disoriented throughout the case and is unsure what to believe about the crime and who may have pulled the trigger.
She said that she did not want anyone "wrongfully imprisoned," but said that it was "heartbreaking" to have to revisit a case that for her family, has no closure. She added, "We do want to know the truth, and we do want justice and that we don't have."
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a judge has ruled that the prosecutors in the case improperly withheld evidence in which a key witness allegedly said that police detectives pressured her to lie. The witness, who was said to be a prostitute and drug user, wrote to then-District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham and trial prosecutor Carlos Vega to say she had been coerced into providing a false statement by detectives.
That witness added that she had further been induced by Vega, who she claims had promised her money, drug treatment, and cosmetic dentistry. Prosecutors said that those letters, which were sent before the trial began and could have been crucial to attacking the witness' credibility, were never disclosed to the lawyers of the defendant.
On Monday, June 17th, Common Pleas Court Judge Scott DiClaudio said that the "magnitude of that indiscretion was so obvious." He then agreed to overturn Slaughter's conviction and prosecutors said that they would not seek to retry him. While in the courtroom, Slaughter's wife, Nefertiti Savoy-Slaughter said that the relief of this decision "has been a long time coming." She added, "I'm just so happy that the decision was finally made."
Vega did not agree with the decision. In an interview, he denied that he had ever introduced a witness or withheld relevant evidence. He also said that during the appeals process, the District Attorney's Office did not allow him to review the case file before deciding to advocate for Slaughter's release.
He did not know about Monday's hearing and said that he was "deeply saddened and disappointed" by the outcome. Vega said, "A police officer lost his life. There's a widow. He left a son and the evidence is overwhelming." According to reports, this new development in Slaughter's case comes a year after his co-defendant, William Johnson, was released due to the same set of circumstances.
Both Slaughter and Johnson had been convicted of fatally shooting Officer Terence V. Flomo on August 26, 2005. At the time, Flomo was an undercover narcotics officer. At the time of his death, he left behind his wife and four children.
At the trial, the prosecutor's theory was that Flomo, while off-duty, had driven to 20th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue around 2:00 a.m. and had spoken to two women who were known drug users and who were out on the streets engaging in prostitution. They said that at that time, Johnson and Slaughter had fired into his car, killing him.
There were no family members for Flomo, present during the hearing on Monday, June 17th. Assistant District Attorney Zachary Green said they told prosecutors that they did not want to attend. Later that afternoon, Mary Flomo, the officer's widow, said that her family has felt disoriented throughout the case and is unsure what to believe about the crime and who may have pulled the trigger.
She said that she did not want anyone "wrongfully imprisoned," but said that it was "heartbreaking" to have to revisit a case that for her family, has no closure. She added, "We do want to know the truth, and we do want justice and that we don't have."
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Comments
2024-06-20T22:10-0500 | Comment by: Carlton
Another Marxist judge
2024-06-21T06:50-0500 | Comment by: Dennis
If trial lawyers were held accountable for the outcomes of their trials, perhaps they would be more forthright in presenting ALL evidentiary material and let the jurors do their job. Trial lawyers have already made up their minds and they sublimely impart their decision, acting as their own jury.
2024-06-21T21:49-0500 | Comment by: Don
Why not, they release everyone else these days before we can get a conviction from the Bench or Jury. These are some bad times.