Innocence Project Attorney Vanessa Potkin, Herman Williams and Innocence Project Attorney Lauren Kaeseberg
6 September 2022
Image: Innocence Project
Herman Williams, the man pictured above with the attorneys who helped win his freedom, had spent 29 years of his life paying for a crime he did not commit. Tragic as this story is, it is far from unique.
The case has classical hallmarks of a botched investigation by lazy and corrupt authorities. Williams was sentenced for the murder of his ex-wife and mother of his two children. Alleged motive? Desire to be free of her so he could move on with his life. A bit vague, though not impossible. To back that up, the prosecution claimed her blood was found in his vehicle - that was proven to be false. Male DNA found under victim's fingernails was also not Williams'. So clearly is he was involved, the story would still have been very different, and given that he left no physical evidence trail most likely he had nothing to do with the murder.
In addition, the detective involved was known for a pattern of claiming to have obtained a confession from a suspect even if the suspect claimed no such confession was ever made. The same was the case with Williams. I would go as far as arguing it is a bit difficult to confess to something you were not involved in.
The detective, the man by the name of Lou Tessman, should be tried as an accomplice after the fact in all the crimes in which he had pulled that stunt. He would be, in a sane world, as by trying to frame the innocent he had assisted the true perpetrators in evading justice. But I some how doubt he has been so charged, or ever will be. There is a pattern of the government covering for its own. It is even reluctant to acknowledge that its misdeeds and mistakes even happen. There are many signs of that - for example, in many US jurisdictions there is no provision for compensating the victims of a false conviction, and as a result people like Herman Williams end up having to sue the system and fight for their rights to even basic monetary compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
So, as joyous as it is to see Mr Williams as a free man, finally - let's not forget: this is how the government operates. Trust it at your own peril.
References
Herman Williams exonerated, released from prison after serving nearly 30 years for a murder he didn't commit
Tara Molina, CBS Chicago, 6 September 2022
Herman Williams Is Exonerated After Nearly Three Decades of Wrongful Conviction
Innocence Project, 6 September 2022
A 30 years of life gone for nothing! It is easy to say...
Oh, yeah - life completely altered. hopefully, not destroyed, but even that is not guaranteed.
Imagine spending 30 years in a place where you decide pretty much nothing for yourself. Some of these people forget how to open doors for themselves!
Let's hope Mr Williams adopts to life on the outside - but he definitely is owed at least enough money so he does not have to work a day in his life if he so chooses - because he may not even be able to work at this point.
You should look into the world's longest serving political prisoner Leonard peltier and the entire story behind that as well as the beginning of the American Indian movement.
I actually got a chance to talk with him a few times when I was working with his son Chauncey.
That is definitely the worst case of Justice.
However thank you very much for your post today and congratulations that this free man was able to experience life outside of the prison system.
He is a political prisoner for sure but best I can tell he was actually involved in the murder of a federal agent. Now the agents were certainly unjustly harassing the local Native population and being abusive to at times I am sure - but I am not sure it is the same as the Williams' case where the man had nothing to do with the situation, best we can tell.
Actually forensic evidence cleared Leonard peltier of the crime a long time ago however the fact that FBI agents ended up dying meant that somebody had to go to prison.
So this starts the worst atrocity in the United States legal system.
In fact those federal agents illegally wandered into a Native American American Indian movement camp during a Time of extreme violence and bloodshed.
I actually got a chance to talk with Leonard. On the phone because he is in prison however he is allowed to call family members and for a little bit there I was working with the eldest son Chauncey.
So we will never know the truth about who is carrying which firearm.
However the evidence is still out there and you can look into the situation and see how many extremely guilty parties got into trouble after this and where the AR-15 ended up.
This case absolutely deserves a huge amount of attention and looking into if you so desired more knowledge.