For some 16-year-olds, life is just beginning: first loves, driver’s licenses, and sweet sixteens.
For 16-year-old Omar Hooks, life came to a screeching halt. He was charged, tried, and convicted of first-degree murder. He has not seen freedom since.
The murder
On April 17, 2010, Thomas Green was shot three times on the porch of 1115 W. Carla’s Lane, Chester, Pennsylvania, also known as the Bennett Home Projects. At the time, he was surrounded by his cousin and a couple of friends, drinking, smoking, and talking. Officers responded to 911 calls within minutes.
Despite the severity of the situation, responding Officers failed to properly investigate the crime. It took too long to secure the crime scene; multiple witnesses were never interviewed; bullet trajectories were never traced; officers even testified that evidence may have been tampered with. When detectives arrested Omar Hooks two hours after the shooting, they caught him coming out of a house two doors down from 1115. Officers testified that they had already interviewed the residents, but Omar was “fake asleep.”
After holding Omar at the police station for a few hours, one officer claimed he heard Omar “praying for forgiveness.” He claimed Omar, a muslim, did not pray in Arabic, but spoke just clear enough for the officer to hear him. Omar allegedly asked for forgiveness three times to conveniently align with how many times he shot Thomas Green. Once Omar’s mother arrived, detectives questioned Omar and charged him. He would never see freedom again.
While Omar was at the Chester police Department, Detectives returned to 1111 W. Carla’s Lane at 3AM with a warrant. They tore the house apart looking for a gun which they would never find. However, they did retrieve the hoodie and bucket hat that Omar was alleged wearing that day in the Bennett Homes. Detectives ordered a gunpowder particle detection test to be completed, which usually can place an individual at or near a shooting. The results came back negative.
At trial, the prosecution relied on three witnesses—all of whom were Omar’s close friends—to weave a conflicting story that left Thomas Green dead on April 17, 2010. Since the trial, one of these witnesses has offered to recant, stating he was coerced by family and friends to admitting Omar’s guilt. Another was offered a plea deal for his testimony by the prosecution, only coming forward approximately a year after the crime itself.
Despite the numerous inconsistencies in both police and witness testimony, the all-white jury decided to convict Omar Hooks on all charges. Since his sentencing on January 31, 2012, Hooks has appealed twice, once in 2012 and once in 2015. In 2012 his sentence was reduced to 35 years to life in accordance with the 8th Amendment, yet all other motions were denied. Omar Hooks still sits incarcerated in Chester, Pennsylvania, seeking just one thing: a team that will finally believe in him and put up the fight he deserves.