Thomas Highers

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	25.17
Year Crime:	1987
Year Convicted:	1988
Year Cleared:	2013
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Michigan
County or Region of Crime:	Wayne
City of Crime:	Detroit
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Thomas Highers and his brother Raymond Highers were codefendants wrongly convicted in 1988 of murder in Detroit, Michigan. Their prosecution was based on them going to buy some marijuana from Robert Karey, aka "Old Man Bob," in east Detroit, at the same time four men with guns told them to leave. Two of the men approached Karey's back door and one of them shot him. When they heard the gunshot the Highers brothers ran down his driveway. They were seen running away by a witness who later identified Raymond from a lineup. They were charged with Karey's murder. After their conviction by a jury the Highers brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole. After more than two decades in prison a lawyer, Kevin Zieleniewski, by chance came upon a Facebook post by Mary Evans, a former high school classmate of the Highers brothers. Zieleniewski and Evans corresponded and based on the information she provided him, he discovered that he knew someone who was at the scene of Karey's murder, and that his friend had been one of the two men involved in Karey's shooting. Ray Highers and Bob Highers filed a post-conviction petition based on the new other culprit evidence, and in 2012 it was granted and they were released. The Wayne County District Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges was granted. The brothers could receive up to $1.25 million each in compensation under Michigan's wrongful imprisonment compensation statute that went into effect in 2016 (Mich. Public Act 843)."
Conviction Caused By:	"The eyewitness correctly identified Ray Highers as running from the murder scene, but he and his brother hadn't been involved in the shooting."
Innocence Proved By:	"Ray Highers and Bob Highers filed a post-conviction petition based on the new other culprit evidence, and in 2012 it was granted and they were released. The Wayne County District Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges was granted."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	46
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Brothers could receive $1.25M each for wrongful conviction: “I’d rather have the 26 years back", By Stateside Staff & Josh Hakala, MichiganRadio.org, April 24, 2017"
Information Location 1:	http://michiganradio.org/post/brothers-could-receive-125m-each-wrongful-conviction-i-d-rather-have-26-years-back
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Thomas Highers

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

25.17

Year Crime:

1987

Year Convicted:

1988

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Michigan

County or Region of Crime:

Wayne

City of Crime:

Detroit

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"The eyewitness correctly identified Ray Highers as running from the murder scene, but he and his brother hadn't been involved in the shooting."

Innocence Proved By:

"Ray Highers and Bob Highers filed a post-conviction petition based on the new other culprit evidence, and in 2012 it was granted and they were released. The Wayne County District Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges was granted."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

46

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Brothers could receive $1.25M each for wrongful conviction: “I’d rather have the 26 years back", By Stateside Staff & Josh Hakala, MichiganRadio.org, April 24, 2017"

Information Location 1:

http://michiganradio.org/post/brothers-could-receive-125m-each-wrongful-conviction-i-d-rather-have-26-years-back

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Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

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