Non-IPNO exonerees

Hayes Williams was just 19 years-old and had no prior arrests when he was implicated in a 1967 Orleans Parish gunfight between two acquaintances and a gas station owner.

Although he was only a bystander, Mr. Williams’ lawyer incorrectly convinced him that his only hope to avoid the death penalty was to accept a plea bargain and serve 10 years for a crime he did not commit. While in prison, however, the plea bargain law changed and Mr. Williams’ 10 year sentence became life in prison.

More than 25 years later, New Orleans lawyer Sonny Armond took on Mr. Williams’ case  pro bono and was able to present evidence of Mr. Williams’ innocence that the prosecutors had wrongfully withheld at trial.

In 1997, after serving 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Mr. Williams was freed.

While in prison, Mr. Williams was one of the primary catalysts of some the most substantial prison reforms Angola had ever seen.

Tragically, Mr. Williams died in March 2000 at the age of 52, having spent more than half of his life wrongfully incarcerated.

Further Reading:
Rae Morries, David “Hayes Williams: R.I.P.” The Southerner, Fall 2000