A Philadelphia judge vacated the convictions of Jermal Shuler, Marc Brittingham, and Rasheed Smith in a 1997 North Philadelphia murder after new forensic evidence discredited expert testimony about the victim’s time of death, undermining the prosecution’s core theory at trial. Shuler, Brittingham, and Smith spent over 28 years in prison for a murder they did not commit.
The three men were wrongfully convicted based on a single eyewitness who claimed to see them at the crime scene on Saturday night the weekend that the victim was killed. The eyewitness’ testimony was corroborated at trial by the medical examiner’s initial time of death determination. However, in post-conviction investigations by defense counsel and the Philadelphia District Attorney Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), expert pathologists separately concluded that the medical examiner’s original time of death was unreasonable, and the victim likely died nearly 24 hours after the eyewitness testified that she saw the men. The judge vacated the convictions against the three men after a joint request from Shuler’s attorneys at the Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project; Brittingham’s attorneys at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project; Smith’s attorney at DLA Piper; and the CIU.
“Today’s ruling confirms what should have been clear from the outset: These convictions lacked reliable evidence and rested on deeply flawed forensic testimony,” said attorneys for the men. “For nearly three decades, Shuler, Brittingham, and Smith maintained their innocence while serving time for a crime they did not commit. The absence of physical evidence, along with new evidence discovered during the joint investigation, makes clear that this wrongful conviction should never have occurred. We are grateful to District Attorney Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit for its thorough, independent review to uncover the truth.”
A Case Built on an Unreliable Witness Identification
On Monday, Nov. 10, 1997, an elderly widow was reportedly found by her nephew, beaten and stabbed in her North Philadelphia home. She had last been seen alive the previous Friday afternoon.
Police focused on Shuler, Brittingham, and Smith after a single witness claimed to have seen the three men leaving the victim’s home Saturday evening. No physical evidence connected the three men to the crime, and that witness faced significant credibility challenges at trial. To link the witness’s testimony to the murder, the Commonwealth relied on the medical examiner, who testified that the victim’s autopsy results were consistent with her having been killed on Saturday night. The autopsy report, however, never specified a time or date of death.
Faulty Forensics
This case clearly illustrates the impact of flawed forensic testimony on wrongful conviction, which was a factor in 52% of Innocence Project exonerations.
In 2023, Shuler, Brittingham, and Smith retained Illinois-based forensic pathologist Dr. James Filkins, who concluded that the victim did not die on Saturday and likely died early Monday morning—a day later than the eyewitness account.
Filkins’ findings were supported in 2025, when Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner for the State of Connecticut and past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, who was retained by the CIU, concluded that the victim probably died late Sunday night. He opined it was “extremely unlikely” that the victim died Saturday night, further undermining the prosecution’s timeline.
Shuler is represented by Innocence Project attorney Angie Louie and Exoneration Project attorney Tara Thompson. Brittingham is represented by Pennsylvania Innocence Project attorney Nilam A. Sanghvi and Exoneration Project attorney Amelia Maxfield. Smith is represented by attorney Brian M. Robinson of DLA Piper.