Fourth man released in Philadelphia in review of 'sex for lies' scheme in 1980s homicide unit

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man has been released from prison after 41 years in the latest review of convictions allegedly tainted by detectives who offered to arrange sexual liaisons for witnesses in exchange for false testimony.

Russell Williams, 67, is the fourth person to have his conviction overturned in the “sex for lies” investigation. In a deal with prosecutors, Williams left prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder in a 1982 case and being sentenced to time served.

“He still maintains his innocence,” lawyer Kevin Mincey said. “But he chose his freedom.”

Common Pleas Judge Scott Scott DiClaudio said vacating the first-degree conviction, and life sentence, at a court hearing Thursday was not an exoneration but perhaps the “appropriate” resolution given the circumstances.

A co-defendant, Andre “Shakur” Harvey, was released after a similar plea agreement in October, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. They were two of three men convicted of killing a man named Fred Rainey on a North Philadelphia street in 1982. The third man died in prison.

Police did not disclose that they had two alternative suspects, including a man involved in a gambling ring, the newspaper reported.

Another man freed in the sex-for-lies investigation, Willie Stokes, served decades in prison before learning a trial witness had been charged with perjury days after his 1984 trial. He was released in 2022.

And a fourth man, William Franklin, was released after 44 years in prison, when a judge said she found the evidence that detectives had solicited the false testimony “credible and convincing.”

The detectives at the center of the investigation are now deceased.