Philadelphia Man Is Cleared in Shooting After About a Dozen Years in Prison

A judge in Philadelphia cleared a man in an attempted murder case on Monday after he spent about a dozen years in prison related to a shooting for which officials said there was weak evidence and the prosecution did not meet the burden of proof. The decision ended a yearslong battle to overturn his conviction.

The man, Charles Rice, who goes by C.J., was serving a 30- to 60-year sentence related to a 2011 shooting that injured four people, according to court records. He was convicted in 2013 on multiple charges, including four counts of attempted murder.

In November, a federal judge vacated his conviction after the state conceded that Mr. Rice’s original lawyer had “rendered ineffective assistance.” The judge gave the state 180 days to decide whether to retry Mr. Rice or dismiss the charges.

On Monday, the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County granted the state’s motion to dismiss all charges.

“We know that if you put all of the reliable evidence forward it does not establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Larry Krasner, the district attorney for the City of Philadelphia, said at a news conference on Monday.

In declining to try Mr. Rice again, the District Attorney’s Office granted that it would not meet the burden of proof for the charges, which the office said amounted to an exoneration for Mr. Rice. Judge James Eisenhower granted the prosecutor’s motion, dropping all charges.