PHILADELPHIA - A man recently freed after 33 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit says he was put there by Philadelphia cops who weren't interested with charging anyone else.
Kevin Bowman filed a lawsuit Nov. 22 in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas against the City of Philadelphia, Detective Dennis Dusack, and Lieutenant Michael Gross, with the defendants removing the case to federal court Feb. 12.
Bowman's complaint alleges that his rights protected by the U.S. Constitution were violated by Dusack and Gross under counts I to IV. In count V, he accuses the City of Philadelphia of similar deprivations. The federal court is said to have original jurisdiction over these claims as they arise under U.S. laws.
Bowman was sentenced to life in prison for the 1989 murder of Neil Wilkinson and shooting of Darryl Woods. His complaint, which begins on page 10 here, says detectives falsified witness statements against him and lied at trial. They also withheld evidence of an alternate suspect who had confessed, the suit says.
He spent 33 years in prison after being convicted but was eventually exonerated.
Wilkinson was dead at the bottom of a stairwell at the Richard Allen Homes and Woods was alive but had been shot numerous times on March 13, 1989.
Alan J. Tauber and Zak T. Goldstein are the attorneys representing Bowman.