Wrongful Conviction: C.J. Rice Exonerated After 12 Years

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Charles J. Rice.Photo byauthor (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Philadelphia’s District Attorney has chosen to dismiss all charges against a man who was previously convicted of four counts of attempted murder in connection to a 2011 quadruple shooting in Point Breeze following an investigation into his wrongful conviction.

At the age of 17, Charles J. Rice was found guilty on four charges and received a sentence of 30 to 60 years in prison. The victims were members of a known gang, including some of Rice's family, and prosecutors claimed the motive was retaliation for a previous shooting that had injured Rice.

Recently, at 30 years old, Rice was released from prison in November following a federal court decision to overturn his conviction due to insufficient evidence and inadequate legal representation.

The District Attorney's office was given six months to determine whether to pursue a retrial or drop the charges. Subsequently, an investigation into the wrongful conviction related to the 2011 shooting was initiated by the DA's Gun Violence Task Force.

The investigation was led by Assistant District Attorney William Fritze, who is also the head of the Gun Violence Task Force.

“This case really comes down to what I believe was a battle of the alibis and who had the stronger alibi between the two co-defendants,” said Fritze.

Rice's co-defendant was acquitted and provided a strong alibi supported by a trial video. Despite an eyewitness identifying him as the shooter, the misidentification of this witness led to the decision to dismiss all charges against the co-defendant.

“She stated that Mr. Rice had braids hanging down around his face, with a hoodie tied up around it,” said Fritze. “When we look at the arrest photo for Mr. Rice, he actually had cornrows, so his hair was actually pulled back along his head.”

The victim's mother, who witnessed the incident, did not reply to several requests from the DA's office for a follow-up interview as part of their investigation.