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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Sexual Assault (includes aggravated) |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole |
Years Imprisoned: |
23.5 |
Year Crime: |
1981 |
Year Convicted: |
1981 |
Year Cleared: |
2005 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Louisiana |
County or Region of Crime: |
Jackson |
City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Michael Anthony Williams was wrongly convicted in May 1981 of sexually assaulting and beating his math tutor based on his identification by the victim. Exonerated in March 2005 by DNA test that excluded him as the attacker. Michael Williams was wrongly imprisoned for 24 years. Williams was awarded compensation of $330,000 by the State of Louisiana." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous eyewitness testimony. |
Innocence Proved By: |
DNA testing unavailable at the time of the 1981 conviction excluded Williams as the assailant. |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Project NY |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$330,000 (State of Louisiana)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
16 |
Age When Released: |
40 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Jailed 24 years, freed by dna, Maurice Possley, Chicago Sun-Times, March 7, 2005" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0503070157mar07,1,4673701.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed" |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org