Charges dropped against man wrongfully convicted in 2011 quadruple shooting in Philly

Charges have been dropped against a man who was wrongfully convicted as a teenager in a 2011 shooting in Philadelphia that injured four people. 

On Sept. 25, 2011, a shooting in the city’s Point Breeze neighborhood injured Kalief Ladson, a young man who was affiliated with a local gang, as well as his mother, sister, and young cousin. Charles Rice, who was 17-years-old at the time, was arrested in connection to the shooting and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and other related offenses. 

In 2013, Rice was convicted and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. Meanwhile, Rice’s co-defendant in the case who had a different trial counsel, was acquitted.

“Unlike his co-defendant, who was found not guilty of all charges because of alibi testimony, Rice’s alibi was less vigorously investigated by assigned DA Detectives, even though the assigned prosecutor made multiple requests that they do so,” a District Attorney’s Office spokesperson wrote. “Instead, handwritten notes found in Rice’s case file indicate detectives made phone calls to alibi witnesses – most of whom were teenagers who resided at the same address – but did not attempt to physically locate them to be interviewed.” 

On Sept. 22, 2023, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s Litigation Unit responded to a habeas petition from Rice. The Litigation Unit concluded the evidence implicating Rice in the shooting was weak and that “ineffective assistance of counsel” likely led to his conviction. 

On Nov. 27, 2023, days after Rice turned 30, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Rice habeas relief and vacated his conviction and sentence. Rice then filed a motion for his release with bail conditions. The Common Pleas Court granted the motion on Dec. 19, 2023. 

After Rice’s conviction was overturned, the DA’s Office had six months to inform a state court of their decision to either retry Rice or withdraw all charges and exonerate him. The Gun Violence Task Force (GVTF) then investigated the 2011 shooting. 

During their investigation, the GVTF determined Ladson’s mother said the gunman had braided hair which framed his face. A photo of Rice with braids hanging around his face that was taken in March 2011 when he was arrested on drug offenses was presented to the woman by police during the investigation, officials said. 

However, when Rice was arrested on Sept. 27, 2011, his hair was braided away from his face in cornrows to the back of the neck, officials said. 

“The GVTF consulted with certified hair stylists who are experienced with Black clients,” a District Attorney’s Office spokesperson wrote. “The certified hair stylists provided an opinion that visible fraying and wear of Rice’s cornrows in the September 2011 booking photo indicate they had been styled three or four weeks prior.” 

The GVTF determined it was unlikely Rice’s hair was in braids hanging around his face on the day of the shooting as the woman had testified and that he had it freshly styled into cornrows that were fraying and broken before his arrest two days later. 

The GVTF also said neither Ladson – who is currently serving a federal sentence for an unrelated crime – nor his mother responded to their repeated attempts to reinterview them. None of the other shooting victims identified Rice as the gunman. 

Rice had been shot about three weeks before the shooting on Sept. 25, 2011, and during the initial trial it had been argued that the shooting was in retaliation. However, the GVTF determined there was no information indicating Ladson was involved in shooting Rice. 

“While Rice’s co-defendant was with him when he’d been shot – leading the Commonwealth to argue that Ladson had been shot in retaliation – Rice’s co-defendant's alibi was more thoroughly investigated by Philadelphia Police South Detectives and presented at trial, which resulted in acquittal, while Rice’s alibi was less thoroughly investigated by DA Detectives, which may have helped result in his conviction,” the District Attorney’s spokesperson wrote. 

Following the investigation, GVTF chief and Assistant District Attorney William Fritze recommended to the District Attorney’s Sentencing Review Committee that the Commonwealth wouldn’t be able to meet its burden or proof if Rice was retried in the case. Rice was then exonerated. 

As of Monday, District Attorney Larry Krasner has supported 44 exonerations of 43 wrongfully convicted people. 

“I want to thank our Federal Litigation Unit and Gun Violence Task Force for their work toward achieving a just resolution of this matter. Mr. Rice did not receive effective assistance of defense counsel at trial, nor did this office under a prior administration conduct a vigorous investigation of potential alibis,” Krasner said. “I also want to acknowledge the manner in which Mr. Rice’s mother, a DAO paralegal at the time of his arrest, was treated by this office. All defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. At minimum, this office should have made sure Mr. Rice had access to competent legal counsel, just as I and all DAO supervisors would if their own children were accused of a crime.”