JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Innocence Project of Florida (IPF) helped 79-year-old Willie Williams overturn his wrongful conviction after spending 44 years in prison.
Williams was convicted for the attempted murder and robbery of two people at a produce store in 1976 based on eyewitness identification that involved law enforcement hypnotizing the witness.
“Testimony or facts procured via hypnosis has been, per se, inadmissible in Florida courts since Florida Supreme Court ruling in 1985, and it’s actually part of Ted Bundy’s case,” Brandon Scheck, Legal Director of the Innocence Project of Florida said.
Williams’ convictions were overturned by the State Wednesday because the hypnosis was not disclosed to the defense.
Williams’s freedom is thanks, in part, to the IPF, a nonprofit that has been helping the wrongfully convicted obtain their freedom and rebuild their lives since 2003.
“We represent people across the state of Florida who are in prison for crimes that they did not commit cases of actual innocence, where people write to us, and they say, generally, hey, I was convicted for this, I didn’t do this, this is my story,” Scheck said.
Williams remembered his bus ride to prison after all of these years.
“I would say to myself, ‘Well you’ll never be able to see Jacksonville, Florida again.’ But what I didn’t know is that God had a better plan,” Williams said.
To give an idea of how much time has passed since Willie Williams was free, he was convicted in 1976 when the minimum wage was $2.30 an hour.
That was the same year Jimmy Carter was elected president. The same year Rocky was released, and the same year NASA unveiled its first space shuttle.
Scheck said he reviews hundreds of cases like Williams’s every day. He encourages anyone who might be wrongfully convicted to speak up because the Innocence Project may be able to request additional DNA testing, consult with experts, or explore other investigative avenues to prove innocence.
“There’s absolutely no formula to this and, of course, some people who actually are innocent in prison are never able to prove that, unfortunately, in the courts,” Scheck said.
Requests for legal assistance from the IPF must come directly from a prisoner by U.S. Mail. Prisoners can send a written letter explaining their situation, and why they believe themselves to be innocent, and request a screening questionnaire.
That starts a vetting process that can last years, if not decades in some cases.