PHILADELPHIA, PA — Former Philadelphia Police Homicide Detective James Pitts was sentenced Tuesday to 32 to 64 months in state prison after being convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice related to the wrongful conviction of an innocent man.
Pitts, 54, was found guilty in July 2024 of two felony counts of perjury and three counts of obstructing the administration of law. Prosecutors argued that he used violent interrogation tactics in 2010 to force a false confession from Obina Onyiah, who was later convicted of murder. Pitts then lied to both a judge and jury in 2013 to ensure Onyiah’s conviction.
“This historic conviction and sentence mark the first time in nearly 50 years that Philadelphia law enforcement was held criminally accountable for perjury after physically coercing a confession from a suspect,” the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office stated.
Onyiah was wrongfully convicted of the 2010 gunpoint attempted robbery and murder of jeweler William Glatz. Surveillance footage captured two male perpetrators inside Glatz’s jewelry store, one of whom was killed in a shootout that also resulted in Glatz’s death. The second suspect, described as “very slight of build” and around 5’7” or 5’8”, escaped. Onyiah, who is 6’3”, was later implicated by a jailhouse informant and confessed under duress.
In 2021, the Philadelphia Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) successfully petitioned to vacate Onyiah’s conviction after photogrammetry experts determined the perpetrator recorded on video could not have been him. Following the findings, a grand jury recommended criminal charges against Pitts, leading to his arrest in 2022.
At trial, jurors heard testimony from Onyiah, who described being assaulted by Pitts, as well as another witness who was detained at the time. Pitts, who testified in his own defense, denied any wrongdoing, but the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.
During sentencing, CIU prosecutors argued that Pitts’ crimes were premeditated and deliberate, carried out to cover up prior misconduct. They also highlighted the psychological trauma suffered by Onyiah, who spent 11 years in prison before his exoneration.