Cedric Willis

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Charge:	"Murder, Rape and Robbery"
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	11.75
Year Crime:	1994
Year Convicted:	1997
Year Cleared:	2006
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Mississippi
County or Region of Crime:	Hinds
City of Crime:	Jackson
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Cedric Willis was wrongly convicted in 1997 of a 1994 murder and armed robbery. The prosecution convinced the judge to conceal from the judge that DNA testing proved Willis did not commit a rape that was known to have been committed by the same man as the robbery and murder Willis was accused of committing. Exonerated and released from prison in March 2006 after DNA tests excluded Willis as the perpetrator. Willis' prosecutor was Bobby DeLaughter, the same prosecutor who was featured in the 1996 big budget Hollywood move, "Ghosts of Mississippi" about his successful prosecution of Byron De La Beckwith in 1994 for the 1963 murder of civil rights activist Medger Evers. DeLaughter was later elected a Mississippi Circuit Court judge. On March 28, 2008, DeLaughter was suspended from the bench indefinitely by the Mississippi Supreme Court due to allegations of bribery and judicial misconduct. On July 30, 2009, Judge DeLaughter pled guilty in federal court to lying to FBI agents who questioned him during their investigation of nationally known civil attorney Richard Scruggs. In November 2009 the State of Mississippi agreed to compensate Willis based on the State's wrongful conviction compensation statute, with $500,000 paid in 10 annual installments of $50,000."
Conviction Caused By:	Prosecutorial misconduct of prosecuting Willis when DNA testing proved he didn't commit the robbery and murder he was accused of committing.
Innocence Proved By:	"Released from prison in March 2006 based on DNA evidence that excluded Wills as the culprit, who was identified by the testing."
Defendant Aided By:	"Attorney's Tom Fortner and Chris Klotz, and the Innocence Project of New Orleans"
Compensation Awarded:	"$500,000 (State of Mississippi, Nov 2009) paid in 10 annual installments of $50,000"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	31
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Cedric Willis, Innocence Project New Orleans, March 6,2006"
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Jackson man freed after 12 years behind bars on murder conviction, Jimmie E. Gates (staff), The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS, March 6, 2006."
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"Murder Conviction Overturned, Prosecutor Hid Evidence, North Country Gazette, August 2, 2009"
Information Location 3:	http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2009/08/02/hid_evidence/
Information Source 4:	"Court to hear Jackson appeal in wrongful imprisonment suit, By Jimmie E. Gates (staff), Jackson Clarion-Ledger, September 26, 2010"
Information Location 4:	http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100926/NEWS/9260354/Court-to-hear-Jackson-appeal-in-wrongful-imprisonment-suit
Information Source 5:	"Willis to be Compensated for 'Egregious' Prosecution, By Adam Lynch (staff), Jackson Free Press, December 8, 2009"
Information Location 5:	http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2009/dec/08/willis-to-be-compensated-for-egregious-prosecution/
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Cedric Willis

Charge:

"Murder, Rape and Robbery"

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

11.75

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1997

Year Cleared:

2006

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Mississippi

County or Region of Crime:

Hinds

City of Crime:

Jackson

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecutorial misconduct of prosecuting Willis when DNA testing proved he didn't commit the robbery and murder he was accused of committing.

Innocence Proved By:

"Released from prison in March 2006 based on DNA evidence that excluded Wills as the culprit, who was identified by the testing."

Defendant Aided By:

"Attorney's Tom Fortner and Chris Klotz, and the Innocence Project of New Orleans"

Compensation Awarded:

"$500,000 (State of Mississippi, Nov 2009) paid in 10 annual installments of $50,000"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

31

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Cedric Willis, Innocence Project New Orleans, March 6,2006"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Jackson man freed after 12 years behind bars on murder conviction, Jimmie E. Gates (staff), The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS, March 6, 2006."

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Murder Conviction Overturned, Prosecutor Hid Evidence, North Country Gazette, August 2, 2009"

Information Location 3:

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2009/08/02/hid_evidence/

Information Source 4:

"Court to hear Jackson appeal in wrongful imprisonment suit, By Jimmie E. Gates (staff), Jackson Clarion-Ledger, September 26, 2010"

Information Location 4:

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100926/NEWS/9260354/Court-to-hear-Jackson-appeal-in-wrongful-imprisonment-suit

Information Source 5:

"Willis to be Compensated for 'Egregious' Prosecution, By Adam Lynch (staff), Jackson Free Press, December 8, 2009"

Information Location 5:

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2009/dec/08/willis-to-be-compensated-for-egregious-prosecution/

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