Philadelphia Judge Lifts 158 Convictions

A Philadelphia judge lifted 158 narcotics convictions tied to seven allegedly corrupt cops on Friday. This brings the total number of vacated convictions involving the officers to 560. Six officers—Thomas Liciardello, Brian Reynolds, Michael Spicer, Perry Betts, Linwood Norman, and John Speiser—were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2014 and accused of doctoring paperwork, planting evidence, and beating and robbing suspects. They were acquitted of all charges in May. A seventh officer, Jeffrey Walker, pleaded guilty to separate corruption charges and testified against the other six. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.