PETE WILLIAMS OFFICIALLY EXONERATED

Atlanta - February 13, 2007

Wishing Pete Williams "the best" for the rest of his life, Judge Thomas Campbell officially exonerated Willie O. "Pete" Williams in a hearing today in Fulton County Superior Court.

The judge granted an Extraordinary Motion for a New Trial filed on Williams' behalf by the Georgia Innocence Project. Representatives from the Fulton District Attorney's office then told the judge they did not intend to prosecute Mr. Williams further.

DNA tests earlier this year proved Williams' innocence of the 1985 rape and kidnapping for which he served nearly 22 years in prison.

Standing by Williams at the brief hearing were his attorneys, GIP Executive Director Aimee Maxwell, volunteer attorney Sandra Michaels, and GIP intern Cliff Williams, who located the DNA evidence that proved Williams' innocence.

Also in the courtroom were Williams' family and dozens of supporters including former GIP intern Ashley Tyson-Mackin, who first identified Williams' case as a strong one, and three previous Georgia exonerees, Robert Clark, Clarence Harrison, and Calvin Johnson, Jr.

Attorney Michael Schumacher, who served as Williams' defense attorney during his trial, was among the first to hug Williams in congratulations at the hearing's conclusion. Schumacher had argued vigorously during the appeals process that another man was responsible for the crime, but those arguments fell on deaf ears. Just days ago, Atlanta police arrested the man that Schumacher contended two decades ago was the real perpetrator. That man had pleaded guilty to three other attacks, and DNA testing by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that the DNA in one of those attacks matched the DNA in the case for which Pete Williams was wrongly convicted.

Said Maxwell, "Today is the official end of a decades-long nightmare for Pete Williams. It is now up to us at GIP -- and the entire state -- to help Mr. Williams rebuild his life."

The Atlanta law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge is already assisting in that effort. Today, McKenna Long partner David Balser presented Mr. Williams with several thousand dollars' worth of gift cards, the result of donations from the firm's employees.

Pete Williams becomes the sixth DNA exoneree in Georgia and the 195th in the nation.

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Atlanta - February 12, 2007

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Campbell will hear Willie O. "Pete" Williams' Extraordinary Motion for a New Trial on February 13, 2007.

Georgia Innocence Project Executive Director Aimee Maxwell, and GIP intern Cliff WIlliams, will seek to have Mr. Williams officially exonerated for a 1985 rape that DNA tests results prove Pete Williams did not commit.

Pete Williams was released from prison on a signature bond late last month. Since his release, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office has announced the arrest of an Atlanta-area man whom authorities now believe is the actual perpetrator in the case.

The hearing is set for 10AM, Tuesday, February 13, 2007, in Judge Campbell's courtoom at the Fulton County Courthouse.

Mr. Williams will answer questions from the media directly after the hearing.

To help support GIP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation which relies on individual donations, grants, and special events for its funding, please visit our Donations page.

For the latest media coverage on the Pete Williams story, please visit our Articles page.

Atlanta - January 25, 2007

Willie O. "Pete" Williams did more than tell the local media today how he felt about being free. He sang it, breaking into a few bars of "Amazing Grace," his mother's favorite hymn.

Williams revealed that, before his arrest nearly 22 years ago, he had dreamed of being a performer. And apparently that dream isn't dead: "No matter how old you are, you can do anything," said Williams, when asked if he had a message for those following his story. He also added that his decades of wrongful incarceration taught him never to give up, saying he always knew that he would be free someday.

That's despite the odds stacked against him: a 45-year prison sentence for a rape he did not commit. DNA testing granted through the efforts of the Georgia Innocence Project proved Williams' innocence last week. He now awaits a court hearing that will officially exonerate him of the crime.

In the meantime, he is learning all of the things he missed, such as Atlanta's new skyline and cellphones. Williams says he still asks family members to answer the cellphone because he doesn't know how to use one yet.

Williams says he plans to start job hunting soon, but for at least the next few weeks, he''ll take it easy and spend time with his family. He says he aspires to work in the electrical or heating/air conditioning industry.

Atlantans are already reaching out to Pete Williams. In addition to several job offers, a local clothing store has offered him a suit. Pete Williams has many needs right now, and the Georgia Innocence Project's Life After Exoneration program will work to meet those needs with its partner law firm McKenna, Long & Aldridge. In addition, Georgia's previous DNA exonerees who live in the Atlanta area will be standing by to help him with the daily transition. Calvin Johnson, Jr., exonerated in 1999, says that, to transition to normal life successfully, Williams will need to keep his focus on rebuilding his life.

But for now, Williams' biggest need has been met -- freedom.

-- Lisa George, GIP Communications Director

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For the latest media coverage on the Pete Williams story, please visit our Articles page.

PETE WILLIAMS FREE FROM PRISON

Atlanta - January 23, 2007

Willie O. "Pete" Williams is spending his first night in his family's home in nearly 22 years. Tonight, just after 10PM, Williams walked out of the Fulton County jail a free man.

DNA test results conducted through the efforts of the Georgia Innocence Project (GIP) proved that Williams, 44, did not commit the rape of which he was convicted in 1985.

Williams now awaits a hearing in Fulton County Superior Court which will officially exonerate him of that crime. The hearing is expected in the next two weeks.

"Now begins the really hard work for Mr. Williams," says GIP Executive Director Aimee Maxwell. "And we will be there to help him." GIP is one of the few Innocence Projects nationwide which offers a Life After Exoneration program for newly-exonerated inmates.

Said Maxwell, "We call on all of Atlanta -- and Georgia -- to help us help Mr. Williams rebuild his life." The law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge has already stepped forward to assist in this effort, but Mr. Williams will need the support of many people to begin returning to a normal life.

-- Lisa George, GIP Communications Director

For the latest media coverage on the Pete Williams story, please visit our Articles page.

To help support GIP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation which relies on individual donations, grants, and special events for its funding, please visit our Donations page.

ATLANTA MAN TO GO FREE
AFTER NEARLY 22 YEARS
OF WRONGFUL INCARCERATION

Atlanta – January 22, 2007

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced today that WIllie O. "Pete" Williams, 44, will be released from state custody as soon as tomorrow. DNA test results ruled out Williams as the perpetrator of a rape for which he was convicted in 1985. Williams has spent nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Howard said Williams would be released on his own recognizance pending the scheduling of a hearing that will officially exonerate him of the crime. That hearing is expected to occur in the next two weeks.

Through the efforts of The Georgia Innocence Project (GIP), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation performed the DNA testing that proves Mr. Williams's innocence. "We couldn't be more thrilled," said GIP Executive Director Aimee Maxwell. "It is the best result we could expect, and it is way past time for Pete Williams to go home to his family."

Mr. Williams was convicted of rape, kidnapping and aggravated sodomy for an attack that occurred in the parking lot of a Sandy Springs apartment complex in April, 1985. The court sentenced Mr. Williams to 45 years in prison. This rape was one of a pattern of very similar attacks over the course of several months in Sandy Springs and Buckhead. Mr. Williams was arrested after the second attack. Three other attacks in the pattern occurred while Mr. Williams was incarcerated in the Fulton County jail.

Williams wrote GIP in July 2005, responding to a letter Maxwell had sent approximately a year before to all Georgia inmates convicted of rape. GIP examines cases where DNA evidence is available to test and where there is a compelling claim of actual innocence.

GIP relies on volunteer attorneys and law students to examine and litigate cases. Georgia State University law student Ashley Tyson first identified Mr. Williams' case as a strong one in early 2006, and GSU law student Cliff Williams took charge of the investigation in June 2006, finding the physical evidence in Mr. Williams' case just two days after he was assigned to the case.

Atlanta attorneys Sandra Michaels and Bruce Harvey provided their litigation services at no cost, and attorney David Balser of the Atlanta law firm McKenna, Long & Aldridge has pledged his firm's support to assist Mr. Williams in rebuilding his life. "We call on all of Atlanta to assist GIP and McKenna Long in welcoming Pete Williams back to society and making the next decades of his life happy and productive ones," said Maxwell.

Pete Williams has maintained his innocence for the past 21 years and eight months.

For the latest media coverage on the Pete Williams story, please visit our Articles page.

To help support GIP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation which relies on individual donations, grants, and special events for its funding, please visit our Donations page.

ATLANTA MAN PROVEN INNOCENT BY DNA EVIDENCE
AFTER 21 YEARS IN PRISON

Atlanta – January 19, 2007

DNA test results have ruled out Willie Otis “Pete” Williams as the perpetrator of a rape for which he was convicted in 1985. Williams, 44, of Atlanta, has spent nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Through the efforts of The Georgia Innocence Project (GIP), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has just performed DNA testing that proves Mr. Williams is innocent of the crime. GIP attorneys are now working to secure Mr. Williams’ release from prison as soon as possible. “The Georgia Innocence Project and many dedicated people are working very hard to start the process of restoring this man’s life and seeing that justice is finally done,” said GIP Executive Director Aimee Maxwell.

Mr. Williams was convicted of rape, kidnapping and aggravated sodomy for an attack that occurred in the parking lot of a Sandy Springs apartment complex in April, 1985. The court sentenced Mr. Williams to 45 years in prison. This rape was one of a pattern of very similar attacks over the course of several months in Sandy Springs and Buckhead. Mr. Williams was arrested after the second attack. Three other attacks in the pattern occurred while Mr. Williams was incarcerated in the Fulton County jail.

Pete Williams has maintained his innocence for the past 21 years and eight months. Today, as GIP representatives met with Mr. Williams to tell him the results of his DNA test, he said, “I’ve just been excited, anticipating getting out. I’m just ready to go now.”

For the latest media coverage on the Pete Williams story, please visit our Articles page.