JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man who spent 44 years behind bars for multiple crimes he was wrongfully convicted of in the 1970s is now free because of an investigation that led to the discovery of withheld evidence that triggered his vindication.
Willie Williams was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1976 for attempted murder and the robbery of two people at a Jacksonville produce store in 1975. Williams also received the possibility of parole.
The 79-year-old was released from prison in June 2020 on parole under lifetime supervision with the risk of returning to prison. That’s until the Innocence Project of Florida(IPF) stepped in and worked to vacate his judgment and sentence.
Williams said he plans to enjoy his life now and spend time with his wife, family and friends.
“I tell my wife, ‘We just gonna live a good life to the best of our ability and until our days are called,” Williams told News4JAX.
When he was out on parole, Williams said he would get anxious when a law enforcement vehicle behind him while driving because he didn’t want to return to jail.
“Any contact you have with the police department, the parole commission can violate you for it, and send you back to prison from now on,” Williams said. “Now I don’t have to do that I can look in the rearview mirror and don’t have to worry about being jittery or being pulled over and made a stop for a traffic ticket or whatever.”
Williams’ conviction was obtained with the use of evidence that was not disclosed to the defense and was not reliable, even in 1975, according to the nonprofit that advocates for innocent prisoners to obtain their freedom.
During the Conviction Integrity Review investigation, investigators learned that the witness who identified Williams as the shooter in the photo line-up “forgot his face.”
The state concluded that the undisclosed evidence that was not presented to the defense would have ultimately led to Williams’ acquittal in the trial. The IPF said at the time, the witness was unable to identify a shooter when they were presented with a photo lineup.
It wasn’t until the witness was hypnotized, a method the IPF said is scientifically unreliable, that they identified Williams. Law enforcement and prosecutors never told the defense about the hypnosis.
During the trial, the IPF said the state rested its case solely on the witnesses’ identification of Williams, and in the closing argument, the prosecutors said to the jury that it “should believe this identification because the victim would never forget the shooter’s face.”
“It wasn’t disclosed until the State Attorney’s Office in the Fourth Circuit here recently, earlier this year, found out that information from their file, realized that that had not been disclosed, realize the implication of that disclosed it to Mr. Williams, and that is a violation of constitutional violation under Brady versus Maryland, where the state had an obligation to disclose that back in 1975,” said Brandon Scheck, legal director for the Innocence Project of Florida.
The State Attorney’s Office dropped all his charges Wednesday after a short hearing.
“It has been more than 48 years since I was originally arrested for this crime. I always knew that I was not the shooter but I didn’t have the evidence to properly defend myself,” Williams said speaking about his wrongful conviction. “I am so grateful to the State Attorney’s Office for diligently reviewing my case and discovering the key evidence to show that I was wrongfully convicted. I also want to thank the Innocence Project of Florida for helping me resolve my case. I am so thankful that I can finally put this injustice behind me and move on with my life.”
New4JAX reached out to the State Attorney’s Office about the case.
“In 2020, the Florida Parole Commission granted Willie Williams parole on his 1976 robbery and attempted murder convictions. Williams — claiming he had been misidentified as the offender — subsequently petitioned the State Attorney’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Review Unit. The CIR accepted Williams’ case for review.
During its investigation, the CIR discovered hypnosis had been used to secure the victim’s pretrial identification of Williams, but this fact was not disclosed to Williams or his counsel as required by law. The State concedes this newly discovered evidence entitles Williams to post-conviction relief.
Years after Williams’ convictions, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that hypnotically refreshed memory was unreliable and consequently inadmissible as evidence of guilt. As a result, the State will not refile the charges from 1975 against Williams.”
David Chapman, State Attorney's Office communications director