Man free after 37 years due to ‘sex for lies’ false witness
Willie Stokes was decades into a life sentence when he learned the witness who testified against him at a 1984 court hearing soon pleaded guilty to perjury over the testimony.
5 January 2022
Willie Stokes was decades into a life sentence when he learned the witness who testified against him at a 1984 court hearing soon pleaded guilty to perjury over the testimony.
5 January 2022
A Philadelphia man was freed from prison Tuesday after 37 years in a case marred by detectives who allegedly offered a witness sex and drugs at police headquarters in 1983 in exchange for false testimony. The trial witness was charged with perjury just days after Willie Stokes was convicted of murder in 1984. But Stokes didn't learn about that perjury plea until 2015, decades into a life sentence. Stokes, 61, walked out of a state prison near Philadelphia eager to get a hug from his mother and a corned beef hoagie. His mother was too nervous to come after several ...