On September 26th, 1989, Kevin Jones and a friend drove to an apartment with $40,000 cash to buy cocaine. Jones went inside, while the friend waited down the block. Almost two hours later, the friend saw Jones’ car approaching him, but Jones was not in it. Jones was later found dead, wrapped up, beaten and shot, in the trunk of that car. Troy Coleman, the owner of the apartment, was 60 miles away in Atlantic City at the time. Despite knowing of Coleman's whereabouts during the crime, prosecutors charged him anyway. Coleman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison where he has been for over 31 years, fighting for his freedom.
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Troy Coleman split his formative years between California and the middle class Philadelphia neighborhood of Mount Airy, but while in Philly, he attended a rough high school in Germantown, where he met Byron Johnson, Kareem Nobles, and Darren Keith Johnson. After Troy graduated, Byron and Kareem were the muscle behind a cocaine operation that they all ran out of Troy's apartment. However, a drug drought in the summer of nine stimulated desperate behavior all over Philly, and while Troy was away in Atlantic City on September, Kareem allegedly set up a deal with two men, Kevin Jones and Arthur Sanders. Now. According to Sanders, he waited down the block while Kevin Jones drove to Troy's apartment in his gray Dodge with forty dollars to buy cocaine. Nearly two hours later, Sanders claimed to see two other men driving away and Kevin Jones's great Dodge, a light skin driver and a darker in passenger wearing a hat with the brim pull down low. Kevin's body was eventually found in the gray Dodge. Sanders agreed that Troy's photo looked like the passenger with Sanders shaky I d and the coerced and incentivized testimony of Darren Keith Johnson. Troy was sentenced to life in prison. Despite Darren's recantation and Byron Johnson's two thousand nineteen confession to being the actual passenger in the Gray Dodge that day, Troy continues to serve life for a crime for which he was not even in Philadelphia to commit. This is wrongful conviction with Jason Flom. Welcome back to wrongful conviction with Jason Flom. That's me And today we have a story that I think is going to rock your world in a in a different kind of way, right because the person that we're interviewing today, Troy Coleman, has been in carcetrated for thirty one years in Pennsylvania for a crime he didn't commit. That being said, he wasn't a choir boy, not some of the people we have on the show. We're literal acchoire people before they were arrested. But he is innocent of this crime. He wasn't even the same city when it happened, or state for that matter. So Troy's on the phone from prison. Troy, I'm I'm glad you're here, but I'm sorry you have to be under these circumstances. Good. How are you? I'm good? Thank you? And with Troy is Jerry Brown, not the former governor of California, but an esteemed attorney from Philadelphia. Thank you for joining us on the show today, Jason, my pleasures. Let's go back. Troy. You grew up in a middle class environment, right. I grew up in Mountary, Philadelphia, which is a middle class neighborhood, and I was blessed to live with my grandmother, who was well off. We had a beautiful whole bee bedroom home. And you know, everyone who came from that home came to be very successful, although with the private school even my father. And my father moved to California, and when he moved to California, I was going back and forth from California to Philadelphia from my grandmo house, which California school curriculum, our Junia High curriculum was equal to a high school curriculum here in Philadelphia. But you know when I came back to high school here in Philadephia, Germany Town High School, I was looked at this kind of dirty I guess, you know, because of the academics. I guess that we came with versus we was over here in Philadelphia, and you know, you try your best to fit in and you want to be accepted. That's where a lot of my demise came from. When I've gotten with drugs, not needing to didn't have to. You know. Again, my family was well to do, however, you know, just to sit in and be a part of this particular neighborhood that was in the German town, which is a little bit um. It wasn't a good lifestyle they lived, was little more lord class area. So when I started boxing the day, being down there in the gym, that's how I met a couple of them guys from around the neighborhood. After that, subsequently I gotten fib with them with the about the age of seventeen sixteen, we started out one of the quarters. So that's when it began. So this must have put you on the radar of the local police. And we know that in that time and place, this was a culture that it started with Frank Rizzo, who as the police chief in Philadelphia from six to seventy one. The legacy of brutality and corruption is widely known, and it thrived in the police department after he became mayor. Really crazy that that guy became mayor, but seventy eight and they were just beating the ship out of everybody back then, and it's really, uh, it's crazy that this was a major American city. So, Jerry, you were a college student at the University of Pennsylvania at that time and you experienced or at least aware of this. Right, this is not hyperbole, right, Oh no, if you had a little bit of long hair like I did, you every time you walk down the street at night, you were afraid that you were going to stop the hassle by the police. And I'm sure for people of color it was much worse. In my research, I mean, these were in the thirty ninth Districts, right, a section of North Philadelphia, which was a working class, poor black neighborhood. Um police routinely made false arrest, planted drugs, robbed victims, and filed bogus reports to cover up their actions. So all of this is known now, it's been documented. This is not us just having a you know, this is a trip down a very ugly memory Lane right here. In fact, there were fourteen hundred convictions that were overturned due to the thirty ninth district. But they're not the only ones there. There was the one squad cases, the five squad cases. I mean, there's been a history in Philadelphia, you know, and then in the nineties you have one of the cops that was involved in this case, Martin Devlin. The number of cases have been overturned because of him. It's a very sordid history. Right. So this of course brings me back to another person who was Romphick Victor has been on our show, Tony right when, which was ironically the same cop that was involved in Troy's case, Martin Devlin. And in the article in Rolling Stone magazine about Tony's case, there was a pool quote that said that in the nineties, eighties or nineties, a black man had a better chance of getting justice in Philadelphia, Mississippi than in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So let's go to that, and of course, Troy, this of course, what led up to this, I think indirectly, is the fact that you were involved, as you've been very honest about, in the cocaine business. Can you tell us about that and the people that we're working under you at the time because they come to play a role in your wrongful conviction. Well, when we got involved, there was a couple of guys from that neighborhood, particularly down Grocer Street, and this is as he's called the jungle. Some of the guys that's involved, Barra Johnson, Barren, Keith Johnson, Raymond Nobles and his street me was Kareem. My street meame at the time was cosine with his was with our his Kareem. So he was an older guy, he just got out of jail and all this time everybody looked up to him as the tough g highest and so forth. To me, it was like comparative that I get him involved and someone for the muscle as well as Byron. So you had Byron Johnson, Darren Johnson and Kareem Nobles where your underlings. They worked for you. Yes, I guess my little until that being involved in that allowed me to shoot up fast. So I had a little apartment down in mar Street, Lashki Town is what they called Aaron, But we had apartment in Pulaski Town. There was just for you know, fun, dealing with the drug stuff. Girls and all that. The Raymond Nobles Kareem was asked the standing in my part, why live in Mount Area? I still had that place in borrowing the keys to the apartment, careen that keys to the apartment so people have access to it. At that time, I was driving BMW's, had a nice amount of money and I was okay. However, these guys that were working for me, they were okay until a drought came intenighty nine. That's route is when there's spoke drugs, particularly cocaine developble at that time in the city where it could be purchased at so and this was a well known time because homicidally rose significantly at that time and it was real back. So when this drought came about, I was okay. These guys, I didn't have anything for him. So they actually ran them up for lack of ATLI. They just ran them up and was just do all kinds of place stuff and this thing in particularly what this ground happened. Myself and another gentleman by the name of Richard Crawford that morning of September twenty six, we went to Atlantic City. And when I was in Atlantic City, I think I had no more than nine ounces of cocaine left in Actually, you know, trusted tween to deal with that when I was gone. And when we get to the city that morning was gettable in taking insights, you know, shopping, talking all that other stuff to girls whatever. So I was very intoxicated. I wasn't willing to drive back to the city, so that night we checked into hotel. Okay, so you were in Atlantic City having fun, intoxicated, so drunk in fact, that you had a hard time even remembering which hotel you checked into and under what name. And the craziest thing is that the state eventually used your own shaky memory to impeach you. But it's so twisted because they actually presented evidence that was exculpatory because it differed from your memory that you had in fact stayed at Valley's under your own name. I mean, after all, why let evidence of you being in Atlantic City get in the way of prosecuting a man we now know and I think they knew that him was innocent. That should have been the end of this podcast right there, but it's not. So the crime itself. Back at the Apartment of Philadelphia on September, Kareem set up a deal with Kevin Jones and Arthur Sanders. According to Sanders, he and Kevin Jones arrived in the area of the apartment in separate cars around one thirty pm with forty dollars to buy cocaine. Now, Arthur Sanders mentioned at the first preliminary hearing of this trial that he was going to buy this cocaine from Kareem, not Troy or your street named Kassim, but Kareem, which is why this case was initially thrown out as it should have been. But nonetheless here we are, all these years later. So again, according to Sanders, Jones continued down the street in a gray Dodge alone while Sanders waited down the block. Then, about an hour and a half later, Sanders allegedly saw two men driving the gray Dodge passed him, a light skinned man driving and a darker skinned man with the brim of his hat pulled down low in the pastor's seat. That night, the Jones family came to Troy's apartment armed looking for Kevin Jones. They threatened Troy's girlfriend. The apartment was searched, but alas no Kevin. So at this point, Troy, you didn't know it yet, but you were in a lot of trouble, and I don't mean what the cops. The cops actually kind of inadvertently saved you. I got that Philadelphia. That next day, I was stopped by the police. You had my license and registration, everything was legit. But they found a bag of marijuana in the car. And that might have been a good thing, because I got arrested that evening when I called home, and that's when I heard everything, everybody saying, you know, these guys are looking for you. Did you stay then? And when it came it so when I was built out, my girlfriend at the time as well as my mother, had badge in the car in a ticket for me. And that's that that That very next day, I was in California. Okay, So even though you had nothing to do with this, you had to leave town just to be safe in California, at least for now. And at this point the cops aren't even involved yet. And we find out much later that kareem. Of course, the Kareem was Raymond Nobles, killed Kevin Jones and got Byron Johnson to help him dispose of the body. These are the two men that Arthur Sanders allegedly saw rolling by him in the Gray Dodge, but we don't find that out until much later. Now, between the time of this crime and when it's investigated, Kareem Raymond Nobles died. Now, call me crazy, but it just might have been the Jones has had something to do with that. So anyway, now, November twenty one, the police discovered Kevin Jones's body in the trunk of the Gray Dodge and the john wanna make her parking lot in Abington Township. The body was bound with electrical cord, blankets, sheets, and some instulation. By that time, it was badly decomposing, but it's clear that his face had been struck with a blunt object several times and then one, and this is important, one hard contact, high velocity gunshot wound was the cause of death. And we'll get to why that's important. Later. So anyway, the investigation begins, and initially after being pressured by both the Jones family and the notoriously corrupt detective Martin Devlin, Arthur Sanders complicated Troy. According to him, never seen Troy before, and he's sitting there waiting for now and have suddenly a car comes by. Now when you I mean just logically when you think about it, the suddenly you see a car. First of all, you go, you know, that car looks familiar, and then in your mind you go, oh, yeah, that looks like it's Kevin's car. And then he looks at the driver and says, that's not Kevin. It's a light skinned guy. And then he looks at the passenger who has his hat over his head, and he's able to identify him. Now, all this is happening in two or three seconds. According to Sanders testimony, Officer to say that the passenger was approphily said at a baseball capital one pulled down over his forehead, spouts to the seat in the photo where he said, I look like the passenger putting me in the city at the time. However, I'm in Atlantic City. There's a possible adentification to me. So the inference I would take is that I'm sure somebody in the police department and Devlin certainly was willing to do something like this to create false evidence, because he's done it on multiple occasions, as you all know, and there's other cases that you didn't mention that I'm awia. So he probably said, isn't this the guy. And you know, Sanders is pretty scared to death anyway, because the family is really upset with him. This is an element that's not unwilling to use gunplay if necessary. That's kind of the background of all this and part of the reason why Arthur Sanders statement is so flaky, if you will. He's being pressured by the police to give up somebody on the one hand, he's being pressured by the family on the other. And you know, he says, yeah, that looks like the guy. Now that they are focusing on Troy Coleman, they start to focus in on his associates, one of whom is Darren Keith Johnson, who was a eighteen year old five ft three d and pounds soaking wet youth essentially who's brought into homicide who and who first says I don't know anything about anything, and then they proceed to scare the hell out of him by saying, we know you do. And the homicide cops pressured him to give a statement. They told him that if he didn't give a statement, that he was going to go to jail, that he wouldn't see his mother again. I'm sure they told him that if he went to prison, that he would be molested there because he was so small. He told him that they didn't want the dead guy Kareem Nobles. Detective Cohen said, we think that he was involved, but we want Troy because this apartment was rented by Troy. So he's scared to death and he finally gives up Troy. Darren Johnson says, yeah, Troy admitted to he had to lay somebody down. Those two pieces of evidence Arthur Sanders sort of I d and Darren Johnson, now they have enough to get an arrest. Weren't. And this is from Darren Johnson's statement about what Troy allegedly told him. And now I'm gonna quote, okay ready, quote I had to lay somebody down over some drugs. Let me tell you how I did it. I put my gun up to him and told him to give it up. I shot him two to the head end quote. How would I know? But it sure sounds like it might have been written by somebody other than the person who was saying it. Okay, I'll let your imagination take it from there. Now. Not only is this statement not specific to the victim, Kevin Jones, but it also has a very important hallmark of false statements, which is factually inaccurate information. As I mentioned earlier, Kevin Jones was shot once according to the medical examiner trial, not twice. And from what I understand, they used both the carrot and the stick to get this statement from Darren. And subsequently, and this will surprise exactly no one in our audience, he received leniency from multiple drug charges and this quid pro quo and the fact that it was hidden from the defense. It's something that Troy litigated through pro se post conviction motions, but unfortunately no avail. But the point ends up being moved here as Darren Keith Johnson has signed multiple affidavits starting in to recant his testimony, for which the prosecutor had not only threatened him with perjury, but we find out later that Darren and his mother received ominous threats from the police to stick to the original statement. However, back in Arthur Sanders and Darren Johnson, they moved forward with your arrest Troy, and and onto what ends up being really interesting preliminary hearing. Yes it was. It was murder, grobberty, conspiracy, your possession of crown. The preliminer here was equal twelve and at this slimer here in alto Sanders rightfully, I guess he slipped up because he said that we were going to see Kareem, and this is throughout the eliminary here, and that we were going to see Kareem Kareem and his Raymond Nobles. My name was not mentioned, which is probably why Judge Merryweather, it was a decent judge decided to dismiss the case because if you're going to see Kareem, that's not him. Right, Sanders accidentally told the truth, even though he had been pressured to lie. But they're not nearly done with you yet. So after Judge Merryweather dismissed the case, then it was about a week or two and then rearrested me again with the same as that information, and they switched the judges and he put it before another man I think they was Judge Ans, and he held it over for trial, and it may have ended in a not guilty verdict if you hadn't been screwed over by ed Geiger, private investigator who your own family had hired. He was supposed to go down to Atlantic City and gather your alibi defense, but instead we now believe that he never went to Atlantic City or spoke with Richard Crawford, your alibi witness, Otherwise he would have found out what the state had already discovered, that you stayed at Bally's under your own name. Geiger, on the other hand, came back with no alibi evidence and told you that your alibi witness, Richard Crawford, wasn't willing to testify on your behalf. But you don't fully get this picture until two thousand nine though, So at trial you just have your fuzzy, drunken memory of a c you thought that you had stayed at the Ridgmond and under the name Robert Irving. So when the state presents Marlene Smith, a Bally's clerk who testified to you staying at Valley's under your own name, it actually hurt your credibility and put your rock solid alibi on shaky ground. Then the state presents at least chemists Lewis Joca, who testified that the betting electrical court and installation that Jones was wrapped in matched items from the apartment, which just established the setting of the crime but doesn't necessarily implicate you, Troy. So what was presented at trial that convinced the jury that they should find you guilty of second degree murder, which of course they ended up doing. Well. I believe that it was the testimony of Derrick and Johnson coupled with the testimony of all the sentators. However, one of the things that were said in closing was that testimony pay seventh fifty one by the prosecutor. He said, it is in fact Troy was in Atlantic City, and you believe that he was still involved or he put these guys up to it, and this is that there's something that was sent to the journy. You can find them guilty of conspiracy and you know, second degree murder, so so forth, and then undefeldy murder is actually saying that as a result of that robbery a death occurred. We don't believe that he had the trick to kill, right, and that's what secondly we murdered here in uh between, Well, there's certain enumerated felonies, one of which is robbery. If you during a robbery, if murder occurs, that becomes felony murder, which is unfortunately in Pennsylvania. Even if you're convicted a second degree murder it's life, Troy, can you describe for us that awful and probably I mean, I'm guessing must have been the worst moment of your life when the jury came back in I found you guilty, he said, guilty. Was like I was a slight shock. I was. It was so shocking to me that the first couple of years, I believe we only metally. You know, we lost a lot of family. My mother died and my grandmom and my grand mama died a domino effective pain and what happened. But I just couldn't believe we are doing were usually. This episode is underwritten by Paul Weiss, Rifkin, Horton and Garrison, a leading international law firm. Paul Weiss has long had an unwavering commitment to providing impactful, pro bono legal assistance to the most vulnerable members of our society and in support of the public interest, including extensive work in the criminal justice area. First, all priests to our creative getting me through this costley having that hope, uh that you know it will come to it. However, it was a time and actually to be honest with you recently when I uh, they said I was negative, but I know I was positive I was an infirmity with COVID and I was I was deadly sick. I never had a simal pain like at that time. And this is once ago pretty actual. Lord, I said, if this is I remember, good now, don't even dog no more. You see, I would you know, suicidal. But I was like, I was okay with I was okay with nine. I just pretty this at the time, and I'm not going to I'm not going to go a revenuity. And that was my period subselutely beat all the time. Restore a little hope for me. But yeah, you know, you're inspiring other people not to give up hope. So I'm glad you're here to talk about this, and I'm glad you're fighting. And I think now in Pennsylvania there's you know, this progress and and then and that should give hope to hopefully to you and many many other people who need relief in the Pennsylvania criminal system. Talk a little about the post conviction litigation, because this is a crazy I mean, like a lot of these cases are when they go on this long. I mean, it should have been reversed and you should have been freed back in ninety three that conspiracy conviction in has since been reversed the Superior Court of Pencil that in it of the self, was our reason to overturn his case and retrying me or to let me, you know, let me go. However that hasn't been the case, which is just insane to me. Without the conspiracy and being in Atlantic City, how are you involved in the murder in any degree? Well, they continue to square that circle with the two bogus witnesses, Arthur Sanders saying you were in the car and Darren Johnson saying that you confess to having to quote, lay somebody down over some drugs. So in Darren Johnson wanted to come clean and finally recanted, and he did so in an affidavit. But as we find out later, he and his mother were threatened repeatedly by the police and the prosecutor openly threatened him with perjury. So when he came to court in to affirm his recantation, he pleaded the fifth. Obviously, he would not have needed to plead the fifth if he was is going to repeat his bogus testimony. So Troy does most of his post conviction litigation pro se, meaning by himself from his president, acting as his own lawyer, trying to undermine Darren Johnson's trial testimony by proving that he had been incentivized by a deal for leniency in his own drug charges and that the defense had never been notified about any such deals. When Darren he was asked by the prosecutor, David Desideril, do you have any open cases at this time? Darren Keith Johnson said, yes, one five years pubbition. That's a direct quote. It's a testimony based three Dirty seven. However, unbeknownst to us, that was a lie. All his criminals dat he never spent a five years fish. The jury is listening to this, the jury say, oh, okay, he has five years for which okay, so he don't have any incentive to testify false against this guy because he's already been sentenced. Again, I'm gonnis to us that was a lie. Darren actually had open case at that time, which was resolved sixty on these as I got convicted. But unfortunately, so far post conviction litigation on this matter has been totally ignored. The court sided with the d A, finding him more credible than Darren Johnson. However, that's not the last we're going to hear from Darren Johnson. But first two thousand nine you find out what I had mentioned earlier, that your investigator at the time of trial lied to you about not being able to find any alibi evidence in a c and your alibi witness, Richard Crawford, being unwilling to testify it. But you hired another private investigator later on, Walter P. Lee, And in two thousand nine he finally caught up with Richard Crawford. What my private investigator, Walter Lee went to school interviewed rich Crowley said, that's something that he never said to edguy. So no one never came to see me until you mean nothing much. I was witting the Atlantic City, and I would have said I was willing Atlantic City and we had a statement now, but he said that never happened. So that ended ourself was problematic for me. But now the wizards won't cify and this is something assault in significant. Crawford called from the hotel. He called home to his wife's thrill. The prosecuteor had the phone numbers and those phone calls, and a couple of the phone calls was too Richard Crawford's address or mcnaight Street in Philadelphia. They never turns before. So now the evidence is mounting and Darren Johnson re kids and they don't want to hear it. Your investigator, Walter Lee unearthed your alibi witness, shedding even more light on the state's misdeeds in this case, hiding that exculpatory evidence and ambushing you with it to undermine the truth, which was what they had already known, which is that you were in Atlantic City, not Philadelphia. However, if that alibi evidence wasn't enough for them to stop pursuing you in nineteen ninety, why would have stopped them in two thousand nine or ever? So, another ten years go past, and Byron Johnson, who everyone was rightfully scared of and wouldn't think of snitching on in two thousand team had suffered a non fatal gunshot, would it. I guess he didn't want to die without having told the truth, so he finally came forward, But oddly enough, he was shot and killed the following year on juneteenth. The person who was actually in the car and the passengency of the car, Bymon Johnson, has confessed to this. At two thousand nineteen, he did come and he confessed to the Crown of disposal of the body, helped Kareem and everything else, that he was always a problem inspect who was never arrested. And there was a selling named Herb Hartison who was with Byron Johnson who had just been shot, and he got in touch with the spell of Artisan and he said, get me to somebody because I want to be able to tell the truth about this before I died. And he knew that the end was near for him and he wanted to do the right thing here. And he came and he gave a statement. Artison I interviewed him, took a statement from him. Walter Lee took the statement from Byron Johnson. Iron came in. He said that Kareem Nobles called him. He said something about moving some furniture or something like that, and he went over and he saw the dead body and Cream said, look, you helped me get rid of his body. 'll give you five thousand dollars And Byron goes, okay, I mean it's easy money. What he's gonna do is put the body in the car and drive away and leave the car out in Abington at the John Wanamaker's store, which they did Brie Johnson was actually a prompt suspect in this case, and actually Barren Q. Johnson, as he was in the U by To room and others, he made it cleared it the reason why they got there to fly against me because when I was in California, they believed that I was want to come back until everything that happened watched, I didn't know enough to tell. And he said that Byron, you know, put him up. Bryan Johnson was a very very violent guy, as Darren said, and it thinks he was good with his fists, with knives and with guns, and he was scared to death of Byron his reaction if he were to read him out. So I think that he was finally comfortable enough to come forward, which is newly discovered evidence. He was unwilling to state until after Byron died. And he said the same thing that Byron said in his statement, which was that Nobles called him got him to help him move the body. Byron and Darren Johnson essentially corroborate each other as to what happened to Earth, and so did the police because the police believed that Kareem Nobles was involved. So the two men in the Gray DIDs that Sanders allegedly saw were Kareem Nobles and Byron Johnson. Byron's confession and Darren's recantation impeached Sanders's shaky idea. The cops new Kareem was involved, and perhaps the Joneses did too, since he wound up dead before the police had a chance to nab him. This murder happened in Troy's apartment while he was party in a c Other than letting his friends use his apartment while he was out of town, there was literally nothing else that connected Troy to this crime. Troy, you know, there's no evidence that he was ever involved in any violent crimes. The one time he got arrested afterwards, when he was stopped, what did they find on a marijuana? No guns, no nothing. You could be sure that he was stopped because he was driving while black in Philadelphia, so they would have searched the hell out of that car and that's what they found. And I want to just read a quick quote here from Darren Johnson, because it's one thing for us to talk about this one said this and the other one said that, But this is from an affid David on September three, that he courageously signed, and he said quote before the trial, the police kept trying to get me to come to court, and I really didn't want to. I knew my testimony was a lie. They and the prosecutor just told me to follow the script. They even went to my mother's house and harassed her and threatened her and told her to tell me to come back to court or something would happen to both of us. That's why in n I tried to testify, but again was threatened, and I chickened out because I was told that I would go to jail for several years for perjury. I was still frightened because I was small. The public defender they gave to me that day told me to plead the fifth and I did. Not only was I small, but I only had an eighth grade education, was a whole lot less smart than him. Now I regret then not having the courage to go through with telling the truth. He goes on to say, still quoting someone might say that I'm angry with the police and the district attorney because they promised me that I probably wouldn't go to jail and then I did. That is not the truth. I keep coming back, and I'm willing to testify because I know this is the truth and this lie I told that Troy's trial has been bothering me for three decades, no matter what anyone threatens me with. Now, I'm not going to cave in. I should have done this years ago and told the truth about Byron, but I was afraid he would kill me or have me killed. I would like the opportunity to be for the court to see me in person and know what is in my heart that Troy Coleman is not guilty end quote. Other than the testimony of these two people, there's not one shred of physical evidence that ties Troy Coleman too this crime nothing. And to hear the words I just read from Darren Johnson and add that to Byron Johnson's confession where he admits to being the passenger of the car. Does Arthur Sanders is shaky? I d even matter anymore? I mean, the guy who would actually be in the Gray Dodge told us it does not. But if that, somehow is still not enough for you, consider some of the things that are known about Arthur Sanders. He began with not knowing Troy Coleman at all, then switched to he knew him from around the neighborhood. More importantly, he had Kevin Jones, patriot and keys in his possession when Kevin went missing. To be in possession of a missing dead guy's things, you're gonna want to place blame on someone else quickly. So let's say Sanders actually did see these two guys in the passing grade dodge. I've been saying allegedly this entire time, as you might have noticed, But let's just suppose for a second that it actually happened that way. Troy and Byron do resemble one another. Now, let me be clear, I'm not just some random white dude giving cross racial misidentification. Troy can back me up here, Troy, that tracks right, I will say that, Johnson. Now, you two don't look exactly like, but enough to say they look like one another. And that's while you're staring right let alone. While if one were to see a guy in a passing car behind glass at twenty miles for less than three seconds, that's if we even accept that this passing grade dodge identification actually happened. It's also entirely possible that this was a fabrication to steer the investigation and the Jones is away from Sanders and at least in the direction of Koreem and Byron. So that said, Jerry, where does this case stand now currently? I have a motion for discovery that's still open. I think I filed a supplemental in April. It's still open. The Commonwealth was going to respond to both of them, and I think that's where we're at right now from my perspective, I mean, the system has to play at itself. I think that they're so busy in the CiU, which is a conviction integrity unit, that they are just overwhelmed. They have cases and they've got six or eight, maybe ten people working on them. They're all homicides. Well, we've been seeing some really great things out of the philade of your CiU, Patricia Cummings, Larry Krasner. We know they're going to keep up the hard work. I mean, just think if you had to research and relitigate the last thirty to fifty years of corrupt cases in a place like Billy Chicago, New Orleans, trying to right those wrongs is no easy task. So your hard work is not going unappreciated here. Maybe us shining a light on a case like Troy's will help bring it to the top of their very formidable pile. So after hearing all of this, Troy, I know I want to do all that I can, and I'm sure our audience feels the same way. Is there anything that they can do? If you want to know more about my case, go to Chroy called the case dot com, everything from the confession to the conspiracy. We reverse to the weekend testimony of er Johnson to still that he received to CHOI called the case dot com to see it for yourself. Well, we'll definitely link your site in the episode bio. And with that we now go to my favorite part of the show, where I first of all, thank both of you so much for joining me here and sharing your story. And now I'm gonna kick back in my chair, turn off my microphone, and just listen to whatever else you'd like to say. No offense, Jerry, but we'll be saving the best for last our guest of honor, which means you'll be leading off. Well, thank you Jason for giving me this opportunity to address Troy's case. Obviously, there is a lot of facts and circumstances here that are extremely troubling. One of the problems is back when Troy was arrested, Philadelphia was in the midst of one of its worst homicide waves in its history. Troy was also dealing with a secondary problem in that he had a court appointed council. UH. He was also dealing with homicide police that wanted to clear cases and do it in the most convenient way because they were being pressured to do so, and therefore they used some of the cases. I've seen some shortcuts in order to achieve that goal, and one of the shortcuts is that they would pressure witnesses, and in this case, they had two very good subjects that they could pressurize. So these are the only two pieces of evidence that were the backbone and the heart and soul of the Commonwell's case. Once they've been debunked, which I believe they have been, and there's been new evidence that's come forward from Byron Johnson who said that Kareem Nobles told him that he was the shooter and asked him to help him dispose of the body. Johnson, unfortunately he's dead, but he's kind of taken the wraps off of Darren Johnson because he was scared to death of this man who was extremely violent and that's why he died a violent death. But in any way, once these pieces have been debunked, it is pretty clear that Troy Coleman is not guilty. All right, Troy, over to you. I would like to hum thank everyone for allowing me to have this opportunity, and at this time I would like to say how to be narrow guying. I mean all pretdutes to our Lord. I don't think anything is going to come to fruition in regards to this case except by the will of our creative God, the Most High. I would like to thank Jason and my attorney and uh Connor and all that was involved in this, my family who has been supported me through this. In my message or I like to have a takeaway even if you know it's just not about me, but you know at this time what got me through these years. And I want to encourage a lot of the youth because we're actually going through about with our youth today was a lot of killing and crime and all that is. I want to push education and vocational skills that's needed. I'm the founder and facilitator of a group entitled Use it's the acronymics young offenders understanding the amptual shackles, which is facilitated by myself type of Bowman and Tracy Wax, and we push forward to try to help the use. Will put between age of eighteen and through with this and all holding their education and vocational skills. I would also like the lassities like ce I Chuester, which is one of the most progressive hills right now for criminal justicory forward and this institution we have more guys who went out on a commutation, and I would like to also move back that I did file for commutation of the actual innocence per chance and who falling definite God willing they won't. But this shill has been good for and they allowed me to do this podcast and I'm very grateful for that. And I hope that other institutions can mirror what's going on at our institution here. So I would like to fake that that's even tending Islamist, the superintendent Eastern and de w Wall because these are so far progressives here that you know, push for education and vocation and allowing you know, college courses and stuff. It goes for you. It's not going to double Jews, but a very grateful for everyone. God will not get the speed about this street as opposed to you know, for the penditutory God will thank you all. Thank you for listening to Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flam. Please support your local innocence projects and go to the link in our bio to see how you can help. I'd like to thank our production team Connor Hall, Jeff Clyburne and Kevin Warnas. The music on the show, as always is by three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction and on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast. Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flam is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Company Number one