Date: 12-08-2024

Case Style:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Shaurn Thomas

Case Number:

Judge:

Court: Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Plaintiff's Attorney: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania District Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Justice went to hell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when Shaurn Thomas was wrongfully convicted of murder.

Domingo Martinez was murdered in November 1990 in Philadelphia.
(Amended Petition at ¶ 7.) Based on a tip from an informant, John Stallworth was
charged with first degree murder in connection with Martinez’s death after which
he falsely confessed and implicated others, including his brother William
Stallworth, in the murder. (Amended Petition at ¶¶ 8-9, 11.) Thereafter, John
Stallworth agreed to accept a plea to third degree murder in exchange for his
testimony against others allegedly involved in the murder. (Amended Petition at ¶
11.) William Stallworth initially denied that he was involved in the murder;
however, when the police informed him that he could get the same deal as his
brother John if he agreed to testify against others and that John would only get his
deal if Thomas agreed to testify, William claimed he was involved and also
implicated Thomas in the murder. (Amended Petition at ¶¶ 12-13.) Thomas went
on trial for Martinez’s murder in December 1994. (Amended Petition at ¶ 14.)
Both John Stallworth and William Stallworth testified that: (1) William and
“Thomas were in a car together at the murder scene on the morning of November
13, 1990;” (2) “three men in another car committed the murder;” and (3) “all six
men involved from both cars fled the scene.” (Amended Petition at ¶ 14.)
“William Stallworth was the only witness to testify that he saw [Thomas] at the
murder scene.” (Amended Petition at ¶ 19.)

After pleading guilty to third degree murder, William Stallworth was
released on parole in January 1999; however, he was later incarcerated for parole
violations. (Amended Petition at ¶ 22.) In September 2011, while being
interviewed at SCI-Retreat by an investigator for the Pennsylvania Innocence
Project, William Stallworth recanted the testimony he had given at Thomas’
December 1994 jury trial. (Amended Petition at ¶ 23.) William Stallworth
informed the investigator that he lied during the trial to benefit himself and his
brother John, that he did not know who murdered Martinez because he was not
involved, and that he had no information regarding Thomas’ involvement in the
murder. (Amended Petition at ¶ 23.)

6
Petition at ¶ 42.) The Superior Court’s denial was without prejudice to Thomas’
right to raise this issue in a motion in his brief in support of his appeal. (Thomas;
Amended Petition at ¶ 62.)
In support of his request for mandamus relief from this Court, Thomas
alleges that because the Superior Court denied his petition for remand he is left
with no adequate remedy at law to obtain the exculpatory evidence in order to
prove his innocence. (Amended Petition at ¶ 42.) Thomas alleges further that the
Board, as a government agency, “has a duty to provide exculpatory evidence in its
possession to a person accused of a crime” and that, without this evidence, he will
be unable to prevail in his appeal before the Superior Court resulting in him being
forced to spend the remainder of his life incarcerated. (Amended Petition at ¶¶ 43,
60). Thomas, citing the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Pennsylvania
v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39 (1987), and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), alleges
that due process requires that he is entitled to the exculpatory evidence found in the
Board’s files, even though the Board is not a prosecuting agency, “where there is a
reasonable likelihood that the evidence would have changed the outcome at trial.”
(Amended Petition at ¶¶ 43-47.) Thus, Thomas seeks an order from this Court
directing the Board to provide him “with all written and oral statements,
recordings, reports, the names of witnesses, and other evidence documenting the
statements of Pennsylvania inmate William Stallworth to officers and/or agents of
the [Board] concerning the November 13, 1990 murder of Domingo Martinez for
which Mr. Stallworth was sentenced and imprisoned.”7 (Amended Petition at ¶
63.)

Outcome: Defendant as exonerated and was paid $4.1 million in compensation in 2017.

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