How the SFPD Framed a Man for Murder
A shameful prosecution that sent Chol Soo Lee to Death Row
On August 18, 1973, in broad daylight, a masked gunman murdered Yip Yee Tak, a prominent gang leader in San Francisco's Chinatown. Within hours, the San Francisco police arrested Chol Soo Lee, a 21-year-old Korean immigrant, under suspicion of committing the murder. In the annals of legal injustice, few tales rival the tragic saga of this young man who became entangled in a web of deceit spun by the institutions sworn to uphold justice. The case, marred by corruption and apparent collusion between the San Francisco Police Department, the District Attorney's office, the SFPD crime lab, and a profoundly suspect Public Defender, serves as a damning indictment of a system rigged against the poor, the marginalized, and the vulnerable in our society.
From the very outset, it was evident that Chol Soo Lee faced insurmountable odds against the entrenched corruption within The City's legal apparatus, which engineered and propagated his wrongful conviction and subsequent death sentence. In the immediate aftermath of Yip Yee Tak's murder, the SFPD, at the direction of Homicide Inspectors Frank Falzon and Jack Cleary, singled out Lee as a vulnerable and easy target—a convenient scapegoat chosen through racial profiling and an insatiable appetite for quick solutions. The SFPD had long been embarrassed by its inability to combat criminal youth gangs inside Chinatown, and as the investigation progressed, the pursuit of truth evaporated in favor of securing a conviction by any means necessary.
Despite having a rock-solid alibi and corroborating witnesses, Lee was violently apprehended at his apartment. According to the arresting plainclothes officer, as he was being handcuffed, the young man said, "Go ahead and kill me. I would rather be off'd. I would be better off." Lee later testified in court that he made that statement only after the officer repeatedly whipped him across the face with a bag full of .38 caliber bullets. Lee also recalled saying, during the drive to the Hall of Justice, "You guys are always picking me up. Last time, it was robbery. This time, it's murder. And I was just going home [to Korea] tomorrow."
The SFPD had long been embarrassed by its inability to combat criminal youth gangs inside Chinatown, and as the investigation progressed, the pursuit of truth evaporated in favor of securing a conviction by any means necessary.
According to Lee, after he was advised again of his Miranda Rights at the Hall of Justice and he requested to be represented by a lawyer before giving any statements, Inspectors Frank Falzon and Jack Cleary told him that if his story checked out, he would be released immediately and would not need an attorney. With that, Falzon and Cleary began recording their interrogation with him. A wanton violation of his 5th and 6th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.
Central to Lee's downfall was the betrayal by his public defense attorney, Vincent Hintz, whose complicity with the prosecution sealed his client's fate. Instead of mounting a vigorous defense, Hintz inexplicably opened the door for the SFPD and the District Attorney to orchestrate a frame job, calling Inspector Falzon as a defense witness. This egregious act allowed Falzon to peddle gossip, innuendo, and his own personal opinions in place of actual evidence, poisoning the minds of the jurors against Lee and setting the stage for further manipulation of facts and evidence in the case. Falzon went so far as to claim, without any proof, that Lee was a member of a Chinese criminal street gang–even though those gangs have never been known to allow Koreans in their ranks.
Lee's conviction was won by the S.F. District Attorney in large part on the damning testimony of Inspector Frank Falzon, who had been invited by the defense to testify about his "knowledge of a motive as to why Mr. Yip Yee Tak was killed"; in the writ of habeas corpus the San Joaquin Public Defender's Office later stated the “defense counsel had no purpose in 'opening the door' to the rumors, rank gossip, prior arrests, suggestive affiliations, and other grossly prejudicial and patently inadmissible evidence which poured into the case [during Falzon's testimony]. When Deputy District Attorney Lassart completed his 'cross-examination' of Inspector Falzon, the defense lay in shards."
The final nail in Lee's coffin came as the San Francisco Crime Lab conducted a series of dubious ballistics tests intended to prove that bullets recovered from the victim's body matched a revolver owned by Chol Soo Lee. The SFPD criminologist tied a bullet from Lee’s gun to bullets from the murder weapon, but 18 years later, he was forced to recant after an independent criminologist proved they did not match at all; when pressed, the SFPD criminologist confessed he had made "a contrary conclusion because he felt it was necessary to obtain a conviction." In other words, he deliberately and depravedly manufactured evidence to guarantee that Chol Soo Lee would be condemned to death row.
[…] when pressed, the SFPD criminologist confessed he had made "a contrary conclusion because he felt it was necessary to obtain a conviction." In other words, he deliberately and depravedly manufactured evidence to guarantee that Chol Soo Lee would be condemned to death row.
Later, multiple witnesses recanted their testimonies, admitting that they lied under extreme pressure from Inspector Frank Falzon and other SFPD officials. Many of these same witnesses subsequently admitted that they felt coerced into identifying Lee as the assailant despite lacking confidence in their ability to do so accurately. There was an initial lineup of suspects, but later, Lee was the only one from the lineup whose mugshot was shown to witnesses, as if the police were telling them, “This is the guy.”
The collusion between law enforcement and the legal establishment at the Hall of Justice in the Chol Soo Lee case is an indelible stain on the integrity of our justice system as a whole—a stark reminder of the systemic bias and institutionalized corruption that continues to plague marginalized communities to this very day. The failure of those entrusted with upholding the law impartially and ethically undermines the very foundations of our democracy, eroding public trust and perpetuating a cycle of injustice.
Yet, amid the darkness, there is a glimmer of hope—a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of collective action. For ten long years, Chol Soo Lee remained incarcerated, spending much of that time on death row awaiting execution. Meanwhile, a growing number of concerned citizens, activists, and advocates worked diligently behind the scenes to gather supporting evidence and expose the various shortcomings and discrepancies inherent in the original case. Spearheaded by organizations such as the Chol Soo Lee Defense Committees and fueled by groundbreaking journalism from reporters like K.W. Lee, this burgeoning movement gradually garnered widespread attention and support.
Ultimately, thanks to the perseverance and dedication of countless advocates and allies, including famed San Francisco civil rights attorney Tony Serra, Chol Soo Lee received a rare retrial in 1982. Facing mounting evidence pointing towards his innocence, coupled with the discredited testimony and negligent actions of previous witnesses and attorneys, the prosecution finally conceded defeat. On October 29, 1982, nearly twenty years after his initial arrest, Chol Soo Lee walked free from custody, officially exonerated for the crimes of which he had long been falsely accused.
The tragic story of Chol Soo Lee exemplifies many of the worst aspects of America's criminal justice system, particularly the potential for racial discrimination, tunnel vision, and institutional corruption to conspire against marginalized communities and individual defendants alike. Yet amidst this darkness, Lee's eventual vindication offers a glimmer of hope and serves as a powerful reminder of the essential role that grassroots activism, media coverage, and persistent advocacy play in safeguarding civil liberties and promoting genuine accountability within our courts.
NOTE: The actual killers were never identified or brought to justice.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "What a page turner! This story is an amazing piece of investigative work—both compelling and heartbreaking." - Amazon review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I’d seen the author’s work in OZY but was blown away by this book. It’s SUCH a great read, written from the heart! Full of interest for those historians of the hippie generation, North Beach, corrupt cops, mobbed up pols, and San Francisco in general. Very well written and paced up to the last pages. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Buy this book now!" - Amazon review
Wow! Uncovering more dirt on Frank Falzon! Keep them coming.
"Whether I'm an angel or a devil, it does not justify framing me for a murder I did not commit." - Chol Soo Lee