A former inmate who was wrongly convicted of murder has been found guilty of another murder after his lawyers won him $4.1 million in compensation and boasted about winning his freedom.
Following Shaurn Thomas’ release after two decades behind bars, lawyers celebrated the overturning of the conviction and congratulated themselves for giving the “innocent man” a future.
Attorney James Figorski, who had worked on the case pro bono since 2011 and met Thomas outside prison when he was released, said he was “ecstatic” about his release.
This was in 2017 when, with the help of the Innocence Project, Thomas’ conviction for the 1990 murder of Domingo Martínez was overturned.
Figorski said: ‘It is gratifying to know that we were able to help Shaurn Thomas gain his freedom after witnessing the injustice he was subjected to.
“We are all delighted that Shaurn Thomas is finally free with his family.”
Then in 2020, the same attorneys helped Thomas secure a record $4.1 million from the city of Philadelphia. At the time, Dechert attorneys, working alongside the Innocence Project, hailed the settlement as a “landmark agreement.”
Figorski told local media at the time: “At best, there were clearly flaws in the system at the time and those flaws are being addressed in court today.”
Following his release, the Innocence Project celebrated the overturning of Shaurn Thomas’ (center) conviction and lawyers met with him outside the prison. Pictured with attorneys James Figorski and Marissa Bluestine (left and right)
Thomas was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Domingo Martínez in 1990, but long maintained his innocence.
But last Thursday, his client pleaded guilty in court to killing Akeem Edwards, 38, on Jan. 3, 2023 over a $1,200 drug debt.
And his girlfriend gave the shocking testimony that Thomas admitted that this was the third time he had killed.
This comes just seven years after Thomas made headlines across the country after his murder conviction was overturned after spending 24 years behind bars.
Thomas had long maintained his innocence, arguing that at the time of Martinez’s death, 78, he was incarcerated in a juvenile prison.
Innocence Project attorneys found that detectives knew Thomas had a potential alibi, and even had 36 pages of undisclosed witness statements pointing to other suspects, but zeroed in on Thomas because of statements made by two alleged co-conspirators. .
However, those co-conspirators’ stories changed over time, and one even ended up recanting his testimony, claiming that police gave him a false story and assaulted him until he repeated it.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to retry the case, even though prosecutors said they were not entirely convinced Thomas was innocent.
In 2020, the same attorneys helped Thomas secure a record $4.1 million from the city of Philadelphia. At the time, Dechert attorneys hailed the agreement as a “landmark agreement.”
Thomas hugs his attorneys in 2017. Following Thomas’ release after two decades behind bars, attorneys celebrated the overturning of the conviction and congratulated themselves for giving Thomas a future.
Thomas was later released from prison and said at the time that he had “no animosity” toward police and planned to “just move on,” according to ABC News.
Figorski, a former police officer turned lawyer, worked on the case pro bono for more than eight years and in a statement after his release said: “Shaurn was involved in a decades-long fight to prove his innocence.”
“I joined him in that fight, and many times it seemed that we would never succeed and that he would remain in prison for the rest of his life.”
When he received his multimillion-dollar settlement three years later, it was the second largest of its kind in American history.
It was after his release that Thomas met Edwards through Ketra Veasy, whose brother Willie had his murder case overturned in 2019, whom he met in a network of other Philadelphians who were released from prison after their murder case was overturned. their sentences.
The two dated on and off for six years, and last fall, Thomas asked her to hook him up with his childhood friend, Edwards, to see if he could sell him some cocaine, prosecutors said.
The ex-con then gave Edwards a sandwich bag full of drugs and told him to bring $1,200 of the proceeds, which Edwards never paid until January 3, 2023.
That day, Thomas and Veasy met at their Delaware home and drove to Philadelphia to run some errands.
Thomas speaking to the press after his release in 2017. He made headlines across the country after his murder conviction was overturned after spending 24 years behind bars.
But before returning home, she said, Thomas suggested they drive around the neighborhood to see if they could find Edwards.
When they finally saw him, Veasy said, Thomas got out of the car.
She later testified that she did not know he had a gun that day and that she never wished Edwards any harm.
But he soon heard gunshots and saw Thomas running back to the car and putting the gun in his waistband.
He told her, “You’re hit, you’re down, you just drive,” Veasy said, and said she did just that.
After committing the murder, Veasy said Thomas made a shocking admission.
“He said it’s his third homicide and he can’t go back to jail,” Veasy testified.
She further claimed that Thomas told her he knew where her children and family lived and to “keep her mouth shut or else.”
But a few weeks later, a federal informant told homicide detectives that Thomas had spoken to him about Edwards’ murder and said Veasy was with him.
The informant also claimed that Thomas attacked Veasy out of fear that he might cooperate with investigators, the Inquirer reports.
That led to a search of Thomas’ home, where cops recovered five guns and a Gap hoodie that looked like the one Edwards’ shooter was wearing.
It was after his release that Thomas met Edwards through Ketra Veasy (center), whose brother Willie had his murder case overturned in 2019.
Thomas was then arrested and charged with illegal weapons possession, but was released on bail.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia police continued their investigation and received cell phone data that placed Veasy and Thomas at the scene.
Both were arrested in March and charged with murder.
While behind bars, Thomas sent Veasy letters that she said were intimidating, and she eventually agreed to cooperate with police and testify against Thomas in exchange for less serious charges.
Veasy ended up pleading guilty last year to charges of aggravated assault and conspiracy, and is awaiting sentencing.
For his part, Thomas did not deny any of the allegations in court Thursday and pleaded guilty to six crimes, including third-degree murder, conspiracy and illegal weapons possession.
His sentencing is scheduled for February.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Innocence Project and Dechert Attorneys for comment.