6-year-old asks judge to free her and her father; an exoneration highlights major issues with city and state legal systems | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Believe it or not, last night’s “snowfall” might have been the biggest of the slow-starting season. All it had to do was beat out the 0.1 inches that fell on Dec. 11 and the “traces” from Dec. 16 and 18.
In other news, a Philadelphia exoneration highlights flaws in the legal system, Pennsylvania’s new hemp rules could hurt industry-pioneering farmers, and President Donald Trump and Carrie Underwood are both planning trips to Wildwood.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
In 1989, three drug dealers were lured to a housing project to buy guns, robbed, loaded into a van, and shot execution-style, their bodies left in different locations in North Philadelphia. Testimony from a man named James White helped convict two Germantown men — Christopher Williams and Theophalis Wilson — of the gruesome crimes.
Williams maintained his innocence for close to 30 years and was exonerated in December. And, based on “significant, material, exculpatory evidence,” Philly’s district attorney argued that Wilson should be cleared.
The case highlights a number of issues with Philadelphia’s and Pennsylvania’s legal systems, including, lawyers say, concealed evidence, corrupt relationships with informants, and an inadequate way of appointing and funding defense counsel that ultimately kept both men in prison for decades.
After two days of contentious legal arguments, Maddie isn’t going anywhere. A U.S. district judge has yet to rule whether the 6-year-old girl from Guatemala could leave the immigration detention center in Berks County with her father soon. She has been there for close to 200 days.
Federal immigration authorities have offered to immediately release Maddie to her mother in New Jersey. But the family’s lawyers said the failure to release her father makes the overture merely a different form of family separation.
What you need to know today
Iran struck back at the United States with a missile attack at an air base in Iraq. Visit Inquirer.com for more updates.
President Trump is going to hold a 2020 rally in Wildwood — in the dead of winter.
The Philadelphia nonprofit that hopes to operate the nation’s first supervised injection site said that a Justice Department appeal or threats from the U.S. attorney in the city won’t stop it from opening soon.
The devastating earthquake in Puerto Rico has caused fear and confusion for many in the area with relatives on the island. There are a number of ways you can help.
Amputation was once the only option for patients who had the same type of cancer as the Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom does. But now, advances in treatment for Ewing sarcoma have drastically improved the outlook for young people with the rare bone cancer.
It’s going to be a big year for Philly workers. While 2019′s highlight was passing some of the most progressive worker protection laws in the country, 2020 will be about enforcing them.
According to Philadelphia police, a man robbed a Rite Aid last week using a demand note that read, in part: "Give me all the money. I’m sorry, I have a sick child. You have 15 seconds.”
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Last night’s weather had me like 😢 but I’m doing my best to 😄 today. Great find, @westofbroad.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
🥘Philly has a new food TV show called Check, Please! where diners discover and debate each other’s favorite restaurants. And, best of all, you can be on it.
🚜Pennsylvania has new rules about growing hemp. While it might boost the industry, it may not be so helpful to early farmers.
🎭Here are 11 shows in Philly that theater insiders can’t wait to see in 2020.
🏀After Joel Embiid’s ugly finger injury (seriously, don’t click that link if you’re squeamish 🤢), his status is up in the air for the Sixers’ big game against the Celtics tomorrow night. Ben Simmons has stepped up already, and Al Horford might also need to.
🤠Trump’s not the only one coming to Wildwood. Carrie Underwood is going to headline a new country music festival there later this year.
🎒Two sisters are filing a gender bias lawsuit alleging that a program at a South Jersey school discriminated against girls because they were not allowed to join it. The program in question was a leadership training program meant to help fifth-grade boys.
Opinions
“Despite some observations that the mayor’s second-term agenda isn’t as ambitious as his first, he and other incoming leaders seemed to find the right notes and words — prioritizing the safety of citizens, promoting equality and access for a city that once again has charged them to help make their lives better.” — Inquirer columnist Helen Ubiñas writes about her impressions of Mayor Jim Kenney’s plans for his second term.
One of the big things to come out of Kenney’s speech was his promise of street sweeping. Inquirer columnist Mike Newall writes that he supports the initiative but also that “it’s hard not to be a little bit cynical.”
The Inquirer Editorial Board writes about what a potential war with Iran would mean by looking back at the last two decades of U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
What we’re reading
The Appeal covers potential reforms to Pennsylvania’s sex offense registry and how Attorney General Josh Shapiro is fighting them.
The New York Times looks at the modern American mall, including one in New Jersey that has an indoor ski hill. (We covered that mall specifically in a story last month.)
Your Daily Dose of | a Revolutionary War traitor
Around here, it’s pretty common for streets to be named after Revolutionary War heroes. But what about a traitor? One reader asked us about Sandy Flash Drives in Ridley Creek State Park and Kennett Square by using our Curious Philly forum. And my colleague looked back through history to learn more about James Fitzpatrick, to whom the moniker Sandy Flash was attached.