Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project collaborated with State Appellate Defender Office and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit in the release of Duane Williams, of Detroit, after spending more than 11 years in prison for being wrongful convicted of arson and murder. He is expected to be released from prison within the week.
On June 18, Wayne County Circuit Judge Bradley Cobb vacated Williams’ convictions and sentences and granted a personal recognizance bond while the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office continues to review the case during a new pre-trial period. Williams, who was convicted of felony murder, has been serving a life sentence for felony murder for allegedly starting a fire in 2012 that killed two people.
“We are pleased that we were able to offer investigative resources and support in drafting motions to the State Appellate Defender Office which helped to play a small role in Mr. Williams’ relief,” said Ann Garant, Cooley Innocence Project managing attorney.
The evidence used to convict Mr. Williams featured the all-too-common dynamics of a wrongful conviction:
- An unreliable jailhouse informant claimed that Mr. Williams confessed to starting the fire.
- An interview that contradicted the informant’s testimony was not provided to the defense at trial. And new evidence, including a $5,000 reward that the informant received after trial, casts further doubt on that testimony.
- At trial, the State’s fire investigator testified that there were no smoking materials found near the fire’s area of origin. The defense received neither a report nor photographs showing a Zippo style lighter, a “smoking material” that was found near the fire’s origin.
- An expert in the cause and origin of fires never examined and rebutted the prosecutor’s theory that the fire was intentionally set. A fire investigator consulted by SADO has stated that an accident cannot be ruled out as the cause of fire.
State Appellate Defender Office said additional evidence and consultant investigations showed there was no evidence the fire was set and that “an accident cannot be ruled out as the cause of the fire.”
“Duane has been unjustly imprisoned and fighting for his freedom for more than 11 years,” said Maya Menlo, an assistant defender with SADO and Williams’ attorney. “Thanks to his perseverance and intellect, Duane’s unconstitutional convictions came to the attention of SADO, the Cooley Innocence Project, Clemency Investigations, and the Conviction Integrity Unit at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. After so many years, we are pleased that he won some relief.”
The Cooley Innocence Project is part of the Innocence Network which has been credited with the release of over 375 wrongfully convicted prisoners, mainly through the use of DNA testing. It is the only post-conviction DNA innocence organization in Michigan. Since its inception, the office has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of nine individuals: Kenneth Wyniemko (2003), Nathaniel Hatchett (2008), Donya Davis (2014), LeDura Watkins (2017), Kenneth Nixon (2021), Gilbert Poole (2021), Corey Quentin McCall (2021), George DeJesus (2022), and most recently, Louis Wright (2023), who spent 35 years being wrongfully imprisoned. Additionally, the Cooley Innocence Project also helped to exonerate Lacino Hamilton, Ramon Ward, Terance Calhoun, and Crystal Mulherin.