Clifford Williams Jr.

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	42.9
Year Crime:	1976
Year Convicted:	1976
Year Cleared:	2019
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Florida
County or Region of Crime:	Duval
City of Crime:	Jacksonville
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Clifford Williams, Jr. and Hubert Nathan Myers (aka Nathan Myers) were codefendants wrongly convicted in 1976 of murder in Duval County, Florida. Williams, 33, and Hubert Myers -- who was Williams 18-year-old nephew -- where prosecuted for the shooting murder of Jeanette Williams and the shooting of Nina Marshall on May 2, 1976 in Jacksonville, Florida. Marshall identified Williams and Myers as two men who entered the women's apartment and shot them. Williams and Myers defense was Marshall had misidentified them. After their convictions by a jury Williams was sentenced to death by the judge -- although the jury had recommended life in prison -- and Myers was sentenced to life in prison. After Williams' conviction was overturned post-conviction, he was released, and the charges were dismissed on March 28, 2019. Williams was ineligible for compensation from the State of Florida's wrongful imprisonment law. Hubert Myers applied for compensation under the law. On January 23, 2020 his claim was denied by the Florida Department of Legal Affairs on the basis his new evidence and the subsequent dismissal of his charges did not amount to "actual innocence." Their denial from Associate Deputy Attorney Carolyn Snurkowski stated: "That someone else could have been involved in the crime does not establish actual innocence. Petitioner presented no credible, persuasive, exonerating evidence to support his actual innocence." On February 15 the Florida Attorney General's Office overruled the DLA and granted Myers petition on the basis his application met the requirements of the statute, and he was awarded $2 million. Williams was awarded $2,150,000 in compensation by a bill passed by the Florida legislature on March 10, 2020 ($50,000 for each year he was wrongly imprisoned.). On June 9, 2020 Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:
Defendant Aided By:	Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit State's Attorney's Office CIR and Florida Innocence Project
Compensation Awarded:	"$2.15 million (State of Florida, 6-9-2030)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	33
Age When Released:	76
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Jacksonville men freed 43 years after wrongful murder conviction, a first for a Florida conviction review unit, By Andrew Pantazi, The Florida Times-Union, March 28, 2019"
Information Location 1:	https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190328/jacksonville-men-freed-43-years-after-wrongful-murder-conviction-first-for-florida-conviction-review-unit
Information Source 2:	"Conviction Integrity Review of 1976 Case Leads to Release of Williams and Myers, Press Release, Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, March 28, 2019"
Information Location 2:	https://www.sao4th.com/conviction-integrity-williams-myers/
Information Source 3:	"Clifford Williams, wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years, wins compensation; vows to fight for other inmates, By Laura Cassels, Florida Phoenix, March 10, 2020"
Information Location 3:	https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/03/10/clifford-williams-wrongfully-imprisoned-for-43-years-wins-compensation-vows-to-fight-for-other-inmates/
Information Source 4:	"Florida approves $2 million compensation claim for man wrongfully convicted in 1976, By Jordan Freiman, CBS News, February 15, 2020"
Information Location 4:	https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-approves-2-million-compensation-claim-for-man-wrongfully-convicted-in-1976-2020-02-15/
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Clifford Williams Jr.

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

42.9

Year Crime:

1976

Year Convicted:

1976

Year Cleared:

2019

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Florida

County or Region of Crime:

Duval

City of Crime:

Jacksonville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit State's Attorney's Office CIR and Florida Innocence Project

Compensation Awarded:

"$2.15 million (State of Florida, 6-9-2030)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

33

Age When Released:

76

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Jacksonville men freed 43 years after wrongful murder conviction, a first for a Florida conviction review unit, By Andrew Pantazi, The Florida Times-Union, March 28, 2019"

Information Location 1:

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190328/jacksonville-men-freed-43-years-after-wrongful-murder-conviction-first-for-florida-conviction-review-unit

Information Source 2:

"Conviction Integrity Review of 1976 Case Leads to Release of Williams and Myers, Press Release, Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, March 28, 2019"

Information Location 2:

https://www.sao4th.com/conviction-integrity-williams-myers/

Information Source 3:

"Clifford Williams, wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years, wins compensation; vows to fight for other inmates, By Laura Cassels, Florida Phoenix, March 10, 2020"

Information Location 3:

https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/03/10/clifford-williams-wrongfully-imprisoned-for-43-years-wins-compensation-vows-to-fight-for-other-inmates/

Information Source 4:

"Florida approves $2 million compensation claim for man wrongfully convicted in 1976, By Jordan Freiman, CBS News, February 15, 2020"

Information Location 4:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-approves-2-million-compensation-claim-for-man-wrongfully-convicted-in-1976-2020-02-15/

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