After over a decade in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, C.J. Rice is free at last. If you don’t know who he is or what happened to him, let us walk you through the way the criminal justice system had him messed up.
The Shooting
According to an account from Jake Tapper on CNN and The Atlantic, 17-year-old Rice suffered a gunshot wound in 2011 that caused him motor issues with his legs. After he was shot, a family was shot in the surrounding Philadelphia area resulting in multiple injuries. Witnesses say they saw a man fleeing the scene.
The police said they received an anonymous tip about a potential suspect. Then, almost randomly, Rice was identified in a lineup by one of the victims with no further questions or discussion, per CNN’s report.
The Trial
Prosecutors tried to connect the shooting of the Philly family to Rice by saying he retaliated against them after being shot days prior. Tapper documented what he described as the “dangerously” incompetent counsel - which was court-appointed.
A source from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office told Tapper lead attorney Sandjai Weaver did a sloppy job preparing a defense for Rice at trial. From allowing evidence to come before the jury that should’ve been suppressed to failing to object to flagrant accusations by the state, Rice was basically set up to fail.
Without any physical evidence, the only thing working against Rice was a wonky eyewitness who accused Rice of being the shooter, gave conflicting descriptions of what to confirm what he looked like and refused to cooperate with the DA’s office. Despite other exculpatory factors including cell phone records that showed he was not in the area where the crime took place and an alibi to prove it, Rice was found guilty and sentenced to 30-60 years in prison.
Tapper’s report says it was determined later that even at a re-trial, no jury would be confident enough to convict him of any crime.
To Freedom
Rice’s new attorneys, Karl Schwartz and Amelia Maxfield of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, filed a habeas corpus petition arguing Rice was cheated out of proper representation based on Weaver’s innumerable mistakes and agreement to “stipulate” an imaginary motive for Rice to commit any crime.
Assistant District Attorney Peter Andrews responded to the petition agreeing Rice’s Sixth Amendment right to adequate counsel was violated and ordered the prosecution to re-try him or release from custody in 180 of his response.
One hundred and eighty days later, Rice is a free man. He can now pursue complete exoneration and expungement of his record, prosecutors say.
He told Tapper in their conversation following his release that the air “tasted sweeter” outside than within those concrete walls.
“The sun shines different - it’s a different warmth. To feel this sudden[ly] as a free man... I can’t put it into words,” Rice said via WHYY.