‘The Innocent Files’: How Chester Hollman spent 28 years in prison for Philadelphia murder he didn't commit
On August 20, 1991, Tae-Jung Ho, a University of Pennsylvania student, was shot dead by two men in a botched robbery a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square in the early morning hours. Tae's girlfriend, Junko Nihei, who was with him at the time of the attack, alerted the authorities and told them that the men had fled in a white SUV and that a woman was inside the vehicle too. Junko also described that one of the perpetrators was wearing red shorts while the other was wearing a blue sweatshirt.
An immediate manhunt was launched with officers patrolling the area for any vehicle that matched the description. Minutes later, an officer saw a white SUV approaching the crime scene with the same first three letters of the license plate as the killer's vehicle and stopped the car. Chester Hollman and his female friend, Deirdre Jones, were sitting in the front seats of the vehicle. Despite them denying any knowledge of the incident, they were apprehended. Hollman, at the time, was wearing green pants, glasses, and a hat. There were no weapons or change of clothes found in the car.
Authorities dubbed Jones as a co-conspirator and asked her to become a witness to the crime. Another witness, Andre Dawkins, a homeless drug addict, near the site of the crime was also taken in by authorities. Both of them eventually implicated 21-year-old Hollman, who had a regular job and no criminal record.
The female friend, Hollman's neighbor, in her testimony, said that she had been riding in the SUV with him and another man, when the two got out of the car and she heard a gunshot. The neighbor was released and left the town after the testimony. During the trial, to Hollman's shock, Prosecutor Roger Stone — famous for his oratory skills — put a false narrative in his presentation at the court. Hollman, during the trial, did not testify on the advice of his lawyer. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life.
Hollman, before the sentencing, learned that the authorities had withheld Dawkins' full criminal history from the defense, including convictions for filing a false report of incriminating evidence with the police. He filed a motion for a new trial, however, it was denied citing that the authorities did not become aware of Dawkins' criminal history before the trial. Hollman was sentenced without parole.
After spending years of his life in prison, Hollman began writing letters to different organizations, stating his innocence. That is when Alan Tauber took on his case, as Tauber began unraveling Hollman's case, he became convinced of his innocence and worked tirelessly towards his release. A major break came in 2001 when Dawkins recanted his testimony, saying he was threatened by police because of his criminal record and had never seen Hollman at the scene of the crime. A few years later, in 2005, Jones also recanted, saying she gave a false testimony after police threatened to charge her with a crime and refused to provide her with a lawyer.
By this time, Hollman had also written to The Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing. The firm took on Hollman's case in 2013 and sought permission from authorities to review his conviction. What they found in the case files was shocking. The prosecution knew about Dawkins' criminal history before the trial, and information of another credible suspect had been withheld. Police, within 24 hours of the crime, had received an anonymous tip about a woman called Denise Combs, stating that she was involved in the crime. Combs had leased a white SUV with license plate letters YZA during the time of the crime and authorities found out that she had returned the vehicle at 5 am, a few hours after the shooting. It was also revealed that Dawkins had recognized Combs from the picture lineup presented to him after the crime, however, police did not pursue the lead.
With new evidence, the organization along with Tauber filed a petition to vacate Hollman's conviction. The petition was granted by the court and Chester was released from prison after 28 years. All charges against him were dismissed.
Netflix's 'The Innocence Files' released on April 15 and shines a light on the untold personal stories behind eight cases of wrongful conviction that the nonprofit organization the Innocence Project have uncovered.
