Willie Otis Williams

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	45 years
Years Imprisoned:	21.83
Year Crime:	1985
Year Convicted:	1985
Year Cleared:	2007
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Georgia
County or Region of Crime:	Fulton
City of Crime:	Sandy Springs
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Willie Otis Williams aka Pete Williams, was wrongly convicted on September 12, 1985 of raping a woman on April 5, 1985 in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Williams' prosecution was based on her eyewitness identification. After his conviction by a jury Willie Williams was sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was released on January 23, 2007, based on exclusion as the assailant by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his conviction. Williams was wrongly imprisoned for almost 22 years. On February 9, 2007, the Fulton County DA announced the arrest of another man, Kenneth Wicker, for the 1985 rape based on the match of his DNA. Four days later, on February 13, 2007, Williams was granted a new trial and the DA dropped the charges. In 2008 Williams was awarded compensation of $1.2 million by the State of Georgia, in a bill passed by the Georgia legislature and signed by Georgia's governor."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	Exclusionary DNA tests. Actual culprit identified.
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$1,200,000 (State of Georgia, 2008)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	23
Age When Released:	45
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"DNA Proves Innocence of Convicted Men, by John Kekis (AP), Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 24, 2007, p. A12"
Information Location 1:	http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/300874_dna24.html
Information Source 2:	"House Resolution 1078 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE), 08 HR 1078/AP HR 1078 Georgia House of Representatives "
Information Location 2:	"https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiVi-TihvDSAhUH9mMKHdxaD4IQFggnMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.legis.ga.gov%2FLegislation%2F20072008%2F85604.pdf&usg=AFQjCNE_M9zXfbPZpueQMM64NQOYKUvWtg&sig2=x5_QpWHdUOaW7vD3UnKGvg&bvm=bv.150729734,d.cGc"
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Willie Otis Williams

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

45 years

Years Imprisoned:

21.83

Year Crime:

1985

Year Convicted:

1985

Year Cleared:

2007

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Georgia

County or Region of Crime:

Fulton

City of Crime:

Sandy Springs

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

Exclusionary DNA tests. Actual culprit identified.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$1,200,000 (State of Georgia, 2008)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

23

Age When Released:

45

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"DNA Proves Innocence of Convicted Men, by John Kekis (AP), Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 24, 2007, p. A12"

Information Location 1:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/300874_dna24.html

Information Source 2:

"House Resolution 1078 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE), 08 HR 1078/AP HR 1078 Georgia House of Representatives "

Information Location 2:

"https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiVi-TihvDSAhUH9mMKHdxaD4IQFggnMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.legis.ga.gov%2FLegislation%2F20072008%2F85604.pdf&usg=AFQjCNE_M9zXfbPZpueQMM64NQOYKUvWtg&sig2=x5_QpWHdUOaW7vD3UnKGvg&bvm=bv.150729734,d.cGc"

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