Pius Princewill
Per NPR, Archie Williams’ case was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit based on a false ID. His lawyer, Vanessa Potkin of the Innocence Project, told the outlet, “He was just walking down the street one day when the police snatched him up, and ended up putting his photograph in a photo array that was viewed by a woman who had been attacked in her home.” The woman didn’t identify Williams at first, but after being shown the photo two more times, she told the police it was him. He was convicted for rape and attempted murder and sent to Angola, which is the nickname for Louisiana State Penitentiary, at the young age of 22.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShgOH1u78XA?v=ShgOH1u78XA]
Williams reached out to the Innocence Project just 12 years into his sentence, and Potkin realized that forensic evidence could help him, but they were blocked from getting it for two decades. It wasn’t until Commissioner Kina Kimble took the bench in 2018 that they were able to help Williams. Potkin said, “She ordered that the fingerprints be searched in the FBI database; she said, you know, we’re gonna get to the truth here. And within eight hours, those prints were matched to a serial assailant, and Archie’s innocence was proven.” So after all those decades sitting in prison, it just took one working day to free Williams, which is pretty galling.
Written by: Nicki
