Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer's office has appealed a judge's ruling that the 'Chester Trio' should receive new trials.
Samuel Grasty, Derrick Chappell and Morton Johnson. Attorneys for the men are seeking to vacate their convictions for the murder of Henrietta Nickens, 70, of Chester, in 1997, arguing new DNA tests point to another suspect.District Attorney’s Office has appealed a judge’s order suggesting that the incarcerated “Chester Trio” should receive new trials, the latest complication in the decades-long saga of three men who say they were wrongfully convicted for a 1997 murder.
But the appeal, filed by District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer’s office on Friday, shows that prosecutors have cast doubt on whether the unknown DNA profile — which modern testing recently linked to a jacket and other items found at the scene bearing no genetic connection to the trio — constitutes exculpatory evidence.
The Chester Trio’s defense teams said the appeal was beyond disappointing; further, they suggest it will complicate a scheduled bail hearing in late May that, before Stollsteimer’s filing, would have all but guaranteed the men would be reunited with their families while they awaited the status of their trials.
Should the court uphold Brennan’s order, Sanghvi said Stollsteimer’s office would be in a position to decide whether it wants to retry the trio’s cases. Prosecutors could also continue the appeal process, sending their filing up to the state Supreme Court, she said.
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