Akeem Folly

Akeem Folly -- Free after 20 Years of Wrongful Incarceration

On November 4, 2024, Akeem Folly  walked free from the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy. His family and loved ones are excited to welcome him home after two decades of incarceration for a crime he did not commit. Akeem is especially excited to spend time with his son and daughter, who were both young children at the time of his arrest and have been a constant support to him. Welcome home Akeem.

How did this happen?

Akeem's Wrongful Arrest and Conviction

In 2006, Akeem Folly was wrongfully convicted of the 2003 murder of Edward "CJ" Jackson.

On July 25, 2003, 17-year-old Jackson was shot in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia. Police had very few leads and there were no immediate suspects. Two months later, police pulled over two men and discovered that they had connections to the murder of Eric Jenkins, another local crime. Police arrested one man, Tyrone Brown, and questioned him about both Jackson and Jenkins murders. Brown stated only that someone names "Brody" was responsible for them. 

Even though police interrogated multiple people, no one mentioned Akeem as potentially involved until seven months after Jackson's murder when a witness facing an active bench warrant claimed that Akeem was an accomplice in the murder. From there on, Akeem was caught in a finger pointing scenario where police incentivized witnesses to implicate each other for other unsolved murders. Akeem was later interrogated and shared that he had heard that Brown was responsible for the murder of Eric Jenkins. That same day, Brown was also interrogated and ultimately implicated Akee for Jackson's murder. Brown claimed that Akeem and Will Creighton bolted out of a car, ran up an alley, and then heard shots and saw Akeem and Creighton run back and get into the car. Brown went on to sign a deal with the government that significantly reduced his murder and gun charges in other cases. 

Before and during Akeem's 2006 trial, the only witnesses who implicated him disavowed those statements as lies. Brown testified that Akeem was not present on the night of Jackson's murder and that Akeem was on crutches at the time, making Brown's account of how the crime occurred impossible because Akeem could not run. Unfortunately, the jury still convicted Akeem of third-degree murder and related charges, and the court sentenced him to 20 to 40 years in prison. 

Akeem's Quest to Prove His Innocence

Akeem first wrote to the Project in 2010, shortly after we opened our doors. We continued to review and investigate his case for the next 14 years. Throughout this time, witnesses have continued to come forward to support Akeem's account that he was at home at the time of this crime and was using crutches as he recovered from an injury and to point to others as those actually involved in the crime. Unfortunately, due to the restrictive nature of Pennsylvania's Post Conviction Relief Act, Akeem's efforts to use this evidence to overturn his conviction have been successful. 

After serving his minimum sentence of twenty years, Akeem became eligible for parole. With the support of his loved ones, community, and our team, Akeem maintained his innocence before the Parole Board and was granted parole. This result speaks to Akeem's character and the clear flaws in his conviction, as the Board usually requires applicants to admit guilt in order to be released. 

Akeem is now home, and we are excited to help him continue his efforts to fully clear his name. As always, it took a village to reach this result, including the efforts of former staff investigators Shaina Tyler and Nick Kato, former Project attorneys Charlotte Whitmore, Amelia Maxfield and Ryan Becker, several former interns, and our current team that supported Akeem's parole application and continues to work toward his exoneration Managing Attorney of Intake and Case Evaluations Clay Waterman, Legal Director, Nilam Sanghvi, and Social Worker, Blanca Castro.