Rape conviction dismissed against man exonerated after 22 years in prison

By Errin Haines, The Associated Press, February 13, 2007

Willie O. ''Pete'' Williams and his family were all smiles as they entered a Fulton County courtroom on Tuesday to hear a judge tell Williams that he is officially a free man.

Williams wore his Sunday best to the three-minute hearing: a light blue and orange suit with a matching orange striped shirt, blue-and-orange tie, brown alligator loafers and a black derby hat. He bought the outfit on Monday for his court appearance.

Williams was convicted of aggravated sodomy, kidnapping and rape and was sentenced to 45 years when the victim identified him as her attacker in the April 1985 incident. The Georgia Innocence Project took the case after Williams wrote the agency a letter in July 2005.

After granting Williams' extraordinary motion for a new trial, and then signing the prosecution's order dismissing the 1985 rape charge against him, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Tom Campbell praised the Georgia Innocence Project — which worked on Williams' behalf — and then looked at Williams.

''I want to wish Mr. Williams the best for the rest of his life,'' Campbell said.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the courtroom erupted in cheers, applause and congratulations, with many in the audience eager to shake Williams' hand.

Outside the courthouse, Williams was held tightly on both sides by his mother, Judy Beglar, and sister, Tracy Williams. In his right hand, Williams held a copy of a book written by another man exonerated of rape by DNA evidence, Calvin Johnson, who has offered Williams advice for life on the outside and attended Tuesday's hearing.

Williams acknowledged that he was a little nervous waiting three weeks for his exoneration hearing.

''I wanted to get it over with,'' he said.

Since becoming a free man on Jan. 23, Williams has celebrated his birthday — he turned 45 on Jan. 30 — and explored the city as a passenger, since he has not yet gotten a driver's license.

And a man who prosecutors now allege is to blame for the crime that sent Williams to prison — Kenneth George Wicker, 47, of Decatur — has been arrested in the 1985 rape case.

Williams and his family said they hope justice is finally done.

Clutching his right arm tightly, Beglar said her son has been hard to hold on to since he regained his freedom, and she isn't ready for him to start working yet.

''He needs this time for himself,'' she said. ''He can always go back and get a job.''

In the meantime, they enjoy each other's company over eggs and cheese grits, a family favorite.

The last legal hurdle for Williams is to have his record expunged, his attorneys said Tuesday. They said he is now eligible to vote, and he plans to register.

Before Tuesday's hearing, Williams was presented with a belated birthday present — a $10,000 gift card — from the law firm McKenna, Long and Aldredge, which worked on his case.