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James Pitts, 55, was sentenced to 32 to 64 months in a Pennsylvania state correctional facility after being convicted of two felony counts of perjury and three counts of obstructing administration of law, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office confirmed on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Pitts was found guilty in July 2024 for his violent 2010 interrogation of Obina Onyiah, who ultimately confessed to a murder he did not commit. Prosecutors said Pitts also committed perjury in 2013, lying to both a judge and a jury to secure Onyiah’s conviction.
The case marked the first time in nearly 50 years that a Philadelphia law enforcement officer was held criminally accountable for perjury after physically coercing a confession.
Wrongful Conviction
Onyiah had been convicted of the gunpoint robbery and murder of jewelry store owner William Glatz on Oct. 21, 2010. During a shootout inside the store, one suspect was killed, while the second fled. Witnesses described the surviving perpetrator as “very slight of build” and between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-8.
However, Onyiah, who is 6-foot-3, was implicated by a jailhouse informant and later confessed to the crime under pressure from Pitts, prosecutors said.
After spending 11 years behind bars, Onyiah’s conviction was overturned on May 4, 2021, when experts used photogrammetry and height analysis to prove that the actual suspect caught on video could not have been him. His exoneration was supported by the DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit, making him the 20th individual cleared under Krasner’s administration.
The Trial & Sentencing
In July 2024, prosecutors presented their case against Pitts to a Philadelphia jury, which heard testimony from Onyiah about being beaten inside the Police Administration Building’s Homicide Unit. An individual who was detained in the building at the time also testified to witnessing the assault.
Jurors reviewed expert analysis proving Onyiah’s innocence, as well as evidence of Pitts’ perjury at a 2013 motion hearing and trial. Pitts testified in his own defense, denying all wrongdoing, but the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.
At sentencing, prosecutors played a recorded phone call Onyiah made to his mother shortly after being charged with Glatz’s murder. In the emotional recording, he pleaded for her help, highlighting the psychological toll of his wrongful conviction.
Prosecutors argued for a lengthy prison term, citing Pitts’ abuse of authority, premeditated cover-up, and the devastating impact of his actions on Onyiah’s life.
Pattern Of Misconduct
This is not the only wrongful conviction linked to Pitts. In February 2023, India Spellman was exonerated of the 2010 robbery and murder of George Greaves, a case in which Pitts played a role in interrogating two juvenile suspects. The Conviction Integrity Unit argued Spellman was likely innocent, a stance supported by Greaves’ surviving family members.
Pitts was arrested and charged on March 3, 2022, after an Investigating Grand Jury recommended prosecution. He was suspended from the Philadelphia Police Department with intent to dismiss.
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