Murder in Donora
Series of Lies and Unrecorded Confession Questions Whether Justice Was Served
By Elizabeth Perry
Innocence Institute of Point Park University
On Dec. 13, 1993 Tiffany Pritchett, Troy Groomes and Dameon Isbell watched a movie in Donora, Washington County, then trekked up a snow covered hill towards their neighborhood.
According to Mr. Isbell, a veteran criminal and …
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Tiffany Pritchett
December 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Western Pa. Case Issues Mirror National Trends
December 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Did they confess? No One Will Ever Know For Sure Because of Failures to Record All Custodial Interrogations
By Bill Moushey and Elizabeth Perry
Innocence Institute of Point Park University
Attorney Francis Sichko agreed to let state police polygraph 18-year-old Tiffany Pritchett in the middle of her 1994 murder trial because if she passed the test, Washington County’s prosecutor led him to …
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Woman free on plea deal after 12 years in prison
October 12, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Thursday, October 12, 2006
By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After six years of appeals and 12 years behind bars, a Washington County woman should be free some time today for the first time in her adult life.
Tiffany Pritchett, 30, of Donora, was ordered released yesterday by Washington County President Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca following lengthy plea negotiations by defense …
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False Confessions: Tiffany Pritchett / Won’t deal away her innocence
September 1, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Friday, September 01, 2006
By Elizabeth Perry, Special to the Post-Gazette
On Dec. 13, 1993, Tiffany Pritchett, Troy Groomes and Dameon Isbell watched a movie at a friend's house in Donora, Washington County, then trekked up a snowy hill toward their neighborhood.
According to Mr. Isbell, a gang member at 19, Miss Pritchett then shot Mr. Groomes in the back of the head with a .380 …
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False Confessions: Three stories
September 1, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Second of two parts
Friday, September 01, 2006
A recently published study of overturned convictions between 1989 and 2003 found that 15 percent of them involved false confessions. Most resulted from police pressure, often on vulnerable suspects.
The Innocence Institute of Point Park University, which investigates allegations of wrongful convictions in partnership with the Pittsburgh …
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Donora woman to get a new homicide trial
March 7, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Washington County woman convicted in a 1993 slaying will get a new trial, after a judge ruled her trial attorney was ineffective.
Tiffany Pritchett, 29, of Donora, was convicted in the December 1993 shooting death of Troy Groomes, 25, also of Donora. At the time a 17-year-old with a ninth-grade education, Ms. Pritchett …
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New trial possible in 1993 Donora murder case
August 11, 2005 By Leave a Comment
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A visiting judge from Lycoming County is expected to decide within 30 days whether a Washington County woman convicted in a 1993 murder will receive a new trial.
Tiffany Pritchett, 29, of Donora, was convicted in the December 1993 shooting death of Troy Groomes, 25, of Donora.
Pritchett's appeals attorney, Noah Geary, argued before …
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