Hayes Williams

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Charge:	Murder Accessory
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment (Resentenced after initially sentenced to 10-1-2 years in prison.)
Years Imprisoned:	30
Year Crime:	1967
Year Convicted:	1967
Year Cleared:	1997
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Orleans
City of Crime:	New Orleans
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Hayes Williams was 19 when he was wrongly convicted of being an accessory to a 1967 murder in New Orleans. Although he had only been a bystander, he was charged with murder and his lawyer convinced him to plead guilty to being an accessory to avoid a possible death penalty if he went to trial. Williams was sentenced to 10-1-2 years in prison, but the penalty for being an accessory was changed before his release and he was resentenced to life in prison. Williams conviction as overturned and he was released in 1997 based on the discovery the prosecution had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence prior to his guilty plea. Williams was wrongly imprisoned for 30 years. He did in March 2000 at the age of 52."
Conviction Caused By:	Prosecutor misconduct of concealing exculpatory evidence.
Innocence Proved By:	Williams conviction as overturned and he was released in 1997 based on the discovery the prosecution had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence prior to his guilty plea.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	49
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Hayes Williams, Innocence Project New Oreleans, January 1, 1997"
Information Location 1:	http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/hayes-williams
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Hayes Williams

Charge:

Murder Accessory

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment (Resentenced after initially sentenced to 10-1-2 years in prison.)

Years Imprisoned:

30

Year Crime:

1967

Year Convicted:

1967

Year Cleared:

1997

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Orleans

City of Crime:

New Orleans

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecutor misconduct of concealing exculpatory evidence.

Innocence Proved By:

Williams conviction as overturned and he was released in 1997 based on the discovery the prosecution had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence prior to his guilty plea.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

49

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Hayes Williams, Innocence Project New Oreleans, January 1, 1997"

Information Location 1:

http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/hayes-williams

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