16 years on death row: Harold Wilson's story
Felicia Melvin
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Features
"You were told and shown you were here to die." Can you imagine being confined for a crime you didn't commit? Or better yet can you imagine watching the suffering of others while awaiting your death under the toughest conditions possible? These are the inner thoughts of the 122nd exonerated death row prisoner in U.S history.
Harold Wilson grew up in south Philadelphia on 18th and South Street, a poor area in Philadelphia. He is the youngest of seven.
"I always been the one, my father didn't trust no one else, I was the first to go deep fishing with my father," Wilson said. His mother and father were strong figures in Wilson's life. Unfortunately his father passed away due to alcoholism.
"I became a man the day my dad died, my god was dead," Wilson said. "I worked since I was 13 years old. I was the only one at 24 who owned his own business. I always generated income and didn't let the society intimidate me," Wilson said.
Before his arrest, Wilson was a Plymouth Meeting health care employee and father of two children.
On April 10, 1988 three murders occurred. The police showed up at Wilson's mother's home with a search warrant and a plastic bag. They searched her basement and five minutes later came upstairs with a jacket that had blood on it. Wilson was charged with three counts of first degree murder and robbery charges.
"I thought I was going to go down to the police station and answer some questions and that would be it, that didn't happen," Wilson said.
Wilson spent over 17 years as a prisoner on death row. When Wilson first arrived to prison, he was introduced to a man named Robert Cook. Cook was a Jehovah's Witness, who was trialed and convicted by the same district attorney who falsely convicted Wilson. Cook showed Wilson how to represent himself as "not a regular inmate." Cook contacted Wilson's family and told them he would help Wilson if they agreed not to send him a television or radio. Television and radio would distract him from handling his legal matters.
Harold Wilson grew up in south Philadelphia on 18th and South Street, a poor area in Philadelphia. He is the youngest of seven.
"I always been the one, my father didn't trust no one else, I was the first to go deep fishing with my father," Wilson said. His mother and father were strong figures in Wilson's life. Unfortunately his father passed away due to alcoholism.
"I became a man the day my dad died, my god was dead," Wilson said. "I worked since I was 13 years old. I was the only one at 24 who owned his own business. I always generated income and didn't let the society intimidate me," Wilson said.
Before his arrest, Wilson was a Plymouth Meeting health care employee and father of two children.
On April 10, 1988 three murders occurred. The police showed up at Wilson's mother's home with a search warrant and a plastic bag. They searched her basement and five minutes later came upstairs with a jacket that had blood on it. Wilson was charged with three counts of first degree murder and robbery charges.
"I thought I was going to go down to the police station and answer some questions and that would be it, that didn't happen," Wilson said.
Wilson spent over 17 years as a prisoner on death row. When Wilson first arrived to prison, he was introduced to a man named Robert Cook. Cook was a Jehovah's Witness, who was trialed and convicted by the same district attorney who falsely convicted Wilson. Cook showed Wilson how to represent himself as "not a regular inmate." Cook contacted Wilson's family and told them he would help Wilson if they agreed not to send him a television or radio. Television and radio would distract him from handling his legal matters.
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