New wrongful conviction act gets first case in Sussex County

One of Sussex County’s first cases under a new state law that would allow people who have been wrongfully convicted seek compensation started in Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown Nov. 4.

Phillip Brewer, now 29, is seeking $10 million from the state after spending three years in prison for two charges that were later dropped. 

In his motion for default judgement, Brewer said, “Due to defendants’ wrongful conduct and conviction, the plaintiff is seeking damages in past and future medical bills, past and future economic losses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.”

“Through the state’s negligence, plaintiff lost his rights to liberty, his constitutional rights, access to legal recourse, and bodily and psychological integrity as a teenager,” the motion said. 

Brewer was in Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown Nov. 4 for a scheduled hearing for his case, which is being contested under Delaware’s Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act, which went into effect in June after being passed in 2024. 

Wearing a black suit with braided hair, Brewer planned to represent himself during the hearing. However, Judge Mark Conner quickly said he did not believe it was appropriate to have the hearing at this time. Brewer is being advised on the case by Cape High grad Krystle Gardner-Blackwell, who is a licensed attorney in Maryland but not Delaware. Conner told Brewer that Gardner-Blackwell could only advise him on the case outside the courtroom and recommended Brewer seek a Delaware licensed attorney. Conner gave Brewer until Monday, Dec. 1, to do so. After a short recess to think it over, Brewer agreed to procure a Delaware-licensed attorney and will continue the case. Conner denied Brewer’s motion for default judgement. 

In 2013, at the age of 17, Brewer was one of four teenagers arrested and prosecuted for the abduction of then 89-year-old Margaret Smith. Brewer ended up taking a guilty plea to charges of second-degree kidnapping and carjacking in the abduction of Smith. He had testified against his co-defendants, Junia McDonald, Jackeline Perez and Rondaiges Harper at trial and at pre-trial hearings. 

According to trial testimony, Perez and McDonald carjacked Smith and forced her into the trunk of her car. Brewer and Harper did not find out Smith was in the car until much later, but they did not attempt to free her when they did find out she was locked in the trunk. The four held Smith in the trunk for two days without food, water or medication. When they decided to dump Smith, Perez suggested burning the car with Smith inside, an idea vetoed by Harper and Brewer. Harper suggested leaving her in an isolated cemetery off Calvary Road in Seaford, which they did. The teens were arrested the next day still driving Smith’s car, which had been reported stolen.

Ultimately, McDonald and Perez took guilty pleas and were given jail sentences. Harper was originally convicted at trial, but his conviction was overturned on appeal and the state declined to retry him. Brewer was the last of the four to be sentenced, but in February 2016, the state dropped the charges against him and he was released. 

The driving force in the Delaware General Assembly behind the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act was Sen. Kyra Hoffner, D-Leipsic, who worked on it for four years prior to becoming a state senator and then was the sponsor when the bill was introduced in 2024. Hoffner worked with the organizations After Innocence and The Innocence Project, as well as attorneys within Delaware on the language of the bill.

In short, the bill sets up a process where individuals who have had convictions overturned via acquittal, dismissal of charges or have been found to be factually innocent of the crime or crimes at issue, can seek financial compensation via a process similar to a civil suit. Those seeking compensation are entitled to a hearing where they can introduce evidence presented at trial, trial transcripts and police reports. 

Hoffner said she is working on other bills that she hopes will improve the criminal justice system, including the keeping of evidence and reforming regulations regarding DNA evidence post conviction. 

Of those involved in the Smith case, McDonald has since been paroled. Perez’s status is unknown. Brewer ended up settling in Maryland. Harper died in 2017, and Smith died in 2020.