'Trying to find my place': 3 Philadelphia men exonerated in 1997 murder case reflect on freedom
After spending nearly 30 years in prison, three men in Philadelphia were exonerated in a 1997 murder case and released this week after a judge vacated their convictions.
Jermal Shuler and Rasheed Turner were released on Tuesday, while Marc Brittingham was released on Wednesday morning after prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that the case, which largely relied on a single witness, had fallen apart.
"I feel overwhelmed, but I feel good," Shuler told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in an interview that will air on Friday.
The trio joined Davis for the interview, where they reflected on their harrowing fight for justice and their newfound freedom. Turner noted that it has been "nerve-racking."
"Trying to adjust to the world right now is like chaos going on around me, but I'm trying to get there," he said.
The interview came after Shuler and Turner gathered outside a corrections institution in Chester, Pennsylvania, where they greeted Brittingham upon his release, embracing him in an emotional reunion. Family and friends also gathered to celebrate their release and welcome them home.
"Me and Jermel, we was grateful to still have our mothers. Like we thought we were never going to see our mothers or our families again at the time," Turner said. "Just to be able to hug the young ones and be able to see our sisters and our brothers is amazing."
Brittingham, Turner and Shuler were initially convicted in the 1997 stabbing death of Essie May Thomas, also known as Essie May Palmer, a 73-year-old North Philadelphia woman who was found dead by her grand nephew, according to ABC station in Philadelphia, WPVI.
"Ultimately what we know as a result of the facts that came out in this case is that the scientific testimony that was offered at their trial was false," Exoneration Project attorney Tara Thompson, who represents Shuler, told Davis.
Shuler is represented by Innocence Project and Exoneration Project attorneys, Brittingham is represented by Pennsylvania Innocence Project and Exoneration Project attorneys and Turner is represented by attorney Brian Robinson of DLA Piper.
According to The Innocence Project, which began reviewing the case in 2009, no physical or forensic evidence linked any of the three men to the crime and the convictions relied heavily on a single "unreliable" eyewitness account and flawed forensic testimony regarding time of death.
The eyewitness, who alleged that she saw the three men on Thomas' porch on the Saturday night in 1997, "faced significant credibility challenges at trial," according to The Innocence Project. Moreover, her account that she saw the men on Saturday was rendered inconsequential when the testimony of the medical examiner that Thomas died on Saturday was disputed, the group said.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, whose office investigated this case, said during a press conference on Tuesday that the convictions of the three men "lacked integrity," pointing to forensic testimony from the medical examiner regarding time of death that was "way off" and the account of a single witness "whose lies were documented by police officers."
"They were robbed of a fair trial. Their conviction has no integrity," Krasner said.
Krasner noted that the exoneration does not determine innocence, but "whether or not" the conviction "still has integrity."
Thomas' death is now considered a cold case, unless new evidence is uncovered.
"I wish that we had then some of the forensics we have now to investigate these things," Krasner said.
Eric Palmer, who found Thomas' body inside her home in North Philadelphia, told WPVI that he doesn't know if the three men are innocent or guilty, but he does know that "there is no justice for my aunt."
The attorneys representing the three men, who maintained their innocence behind bars, released a joint statement after the convictions were vacated, saying they are "grateful" for Krasner's office for "its thorough, independent review to uncover the truth."
"The most painful aspect of all this is ... just the time I missed," Turner said. "I'm so behind. Like, it feels like I'm an alien out here in the world. You know, I feel like I don't belong."
Shuler said he just wants to have a "normal" life.
"I'm still having a hard time with trying to find my place in the world, how to adjust," he said. "For me just blended in with the rest of the population. ... like walking down the street and just like, you don't feel like a crook, you don't feel like a criminal."
Shuler also spoke about remaining "resilient" behind bars for decades.
"I refused to let the system beat me, and I wanted to have a voice," he said. "I know how it feels to be unheard and I just wanted to get the last laugh, so to say."
ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
