Big Un Has Wrongful Conviction Overturned After Being Jailed 23 Years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUqSK1FDopA

Article's a good read. Ghost, Shyheim & others showed out for the verdict.

Quote:

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — More than two decades after being sentenced to a prison term of 25 years to life for the 1996 slaying of Stapleton resident Shdell Lewis, Grant Williams’ case was vacated Thursday in the first wrongful conviction case successfully brought on Staten Island.

Williams, who was incarcerated for 23 years for second-degree murder before being released on parole in 2019, appeared before Judge Wayne Ozzi in state Supreme Court, St. George, alongside his lawyer, Irving Cohen.


The decision to overturn the conviction comes after a wide-ranging probe by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon’s Conviction Integrity Review Unit (CIRU) found exculpatory evidence that included numerous credible witnesses who testified Williams was innocent, and uncovered the procedures used by police in the case did not meet modern investigative standards.

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https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/...-his-name.html

Congratulations on his victory. Now he needs to sue the shit out of the city.

That's long overdue. Good for him. Shame about all those years lost. I agree with David as well.

DAMN!!!!


Good on him!

For a second there I though Killa Sin was out lol


Free Killa Sin!

damn 23 years? No amount of money can replace all that time lost

U.S.
New York City to pay $7 million to Grant Williams, Wu-Tang Clan studio worker who was wrongfully convicted in 1996 killing

New York City has agreed to pay $7 million to a man who spent 23 years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit, Comptroller Brad Lander said Monday.


Grant Williams was exonerated last July in the 1996 shooting of Shdell Lewis outside a Staten Island public housing complex. CBS New York reported the exoneration marked the first successfully overtured wrongful conviction case on Staten Island.


Williams, who is in his 50s, had been paroled in 2019. After being cleared last year, he filed a notice of claim, a first step toward suing the city. The comptroller's office has the authority to settle such claims without court action and occasionally does so, including in the 2014 police chokehold death of Eric Garner.




"While no amount of money can bring those years back for Mr. Williams or his family, I am pleased that we were able to move quickly to a fair and early resolution of this claim," Lander, a Democrat, said in a statement.

A request for comment was sent to a lawyer who has represented Williams.


The case against Williams had rested largely on the testimony of a couple of eyewitnesses. One was a police officer who chased the gunman - and initially gave a description that didn't match Williams.


Prosecutors at his trial also sought to suggest a connection between Williams and a baseball cap that the shooter dropped at the scene, though the hat was never tested for DNA that could have pointed to its wearer. It was emblazoned with the logo of Wu-Tang Clan; Williams had worked at the multiplatinum-selling rap group's Staten Island studio.


No physical, forensic or digital evidence tied Williams to the crime, and some witnesses testified that he wasn't the gunman.


Another eyewitness, a friend of the victim's, had also told investigators that Williams wasn't the gunman. But police didn't tell prosecutors about it until after he was indicted.


"I had blacked out with the verdict. I couldn't believe it," Williams' mom, Cynthia Franklin, said last year.


Williams unsuccessfully appealed his conviction for years before Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon's office agreed to review it. Prosecutors ultimately joined Williams in seeking the dismissal of his conviction, saying they now believe he's innocent.


Williams told reporters at the time that he never lost faith that he would be exonerated.


"I used to tell everybody in prison I'm innocent," Williams said outside the courthouse. "They say, 'Oh Williams, everybody says that.' I said, 'I'm telling you the truth. One day you're gonna see me on the news and they're gonna say that I was innocent,' and today's that day."


Williams earned his associate's degree in prison and started working on a bachelor's, CBS New York reported.


He said last year he's not holding a grudge.


"I knew it was gonna happen. I never gave up," Williams said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grant-w...ion-settlement

He's not holding a grudge? Wow.

Good to see he's getting paid now.

What happened to the people responsible in this case? Like the head of the department that did not tell prosecutors that a witness said he was not the gunman?

Damn, that's some terrible shit. Good that he'll have the money but he'll never have the time back.

Ugh. Honestly 7M isn't much compared to the part of his life he'll never get back for someone else's error

I think $7M is a quite large amount of money. No money can pay him back the lost years but you can have a decent life for 7 million dollars.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soob

No money can pay him back the lost years but you can have a decent life for 7 million dollars.

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This

Hope he is prepared for all of the people that are going to be coming to him with their hands out.

big ups to him.