3 retired Philadelphia detectives to stand trial in perjury case stemming from 2016 exoneration

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Three long-retired Philadelphia police detectives must stand trial, accused of lying under oath at the 2016 retrial of a man the jury exonerated in a 1991 rape and murder. Experts in innocence cases say it’s unusual for police or prosecutors to face criminal charges over misconduct that leads to wrongful convictions. Former detectives Martin Devlin, Manuel Santiago and Frank Jastrzembski, now in their 70s, hoped to have a judge dismiss the perjury case over mistakes made in the grand jury process. But Judge Lucretia Clemons denied the motion Friday and set trial for November.