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I spent 44 years in prison for a murder I didn’t commit but won’t get a cent of compensation despite decades of torment
Under Florida law, anyone wrongfully imprisoned is owed $50,000 for every year they were kept behind bars
A MAN who spent 44 years in jail for a double murder he didn't commit has finally been released and had the charge wiped from his record - but he won't receive a penny in compensation.
Willie Williams, now 79, was wrongly charged with shooting two people dead in a Florida store in 1975 and sentenced to life without parole 12 months later.
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In an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, Willie revealed that despite the huge injustice, he has no hard feelings.
"People ask me if I am bitter and angry," Willie said.
"And I always say no. Feeling like that will just build up anxiety, and I'm too old to suffer from that kind of stuff."
It was a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for the Jacksonville native. And it destroyed his and his family's lives.
While sitting in his car, a guy he knew from school hopped into the passenger seat and asked Willie to drive him to a nearby shop.
Once there, two people were robbed and shot dead before a man then fled the scene and turned the gun on himself, according to an eyewitness during the trial.
Willie's nightmare was sparked after he was identified as the killer.
What his defense team, and the prosecutors in the case, didn't know was that the cops used hypnosis in a skewed attempt to solve the case.
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A witness, who was initially unable to identify anyone in a photo lineup, was then hypnotized into admitting he had indeed seen Willie pull the trigger on that fateful day.
That was the only evidence the court had against him.
Yet it took the introduction of attorneys from who stepped in last year and began to dig deeper into the investigation started by the State Attorney's Office in 2021, did the fallacy of his sentencing of life in prison without parole began to become clear.
Using hypnosis to finger a killer should never have been allowed to stand because it is highly unreliable, something Willie's attorney Brandon Scheck jumped upon with huge success.
In 2020, Williams was finally released, albeit under surveillance from cops, leaving him fearful of returning to prison.
But just two weeks ago, Williams was completely cleared of any involvement in the double murder charge that shattered his life.
Under Florida law, anyone wrongfully imprisoned is owed $50,000 for every year, with a maximum total not allowed to exceed $2 million.
The Sunshine State's compensation regulation decrees that the person involved has no prior felony convictions, which was bad news for any hopes of getting some money for enduring such a tortuous situation.
So, because of an unrelated robbery charge in Massachusetts in 1968 for which he served time, Willie got absolutely zilch.
He has seen others become embroiled in lengthy and expensive legal battles, but it's not for him.
Year after year, he attempted to have his conviction overturned, yet every time the answer was a flat no.
He saw friends murdered in jail, while family members began to die outside of the four dirty penitentiary walls he called home.
While his early years in jail were tolerable - "prison was so corrupt when I first went in, you could get anything" - as the years wore on, his hell darkened.
In 2005, his mother died, although Willie was refused permission to attend her funeral.
"You just start to become immune to everything going on, " he said.
His two sons, who were just kids at the time of his sentencing, grew up without a father.
Willie has also struggled to adapt to modern technology after missing out on almost five decades of technological developments - ATMs to iPhones.
"When my nephews picked me up from jail they took me to a cash machine," he recalled.
"Money just started flying out. I said, 'Let's get out here, the police will think we are stealing.'"
Stats reveal one in 20 legal cases in the United States result in wrongful convictions, and the Innocence Project has worked hard to ensure its clients are compensated for their indescribable nightmares.
Willie has fallen foul of strict Florida statutes, which means he's been forced to pick up work for $15 an hour at a nearby parking garage to keep some money rolling in while dreaming of living the high life.
It helps him remain active - "He has a wonderful work ethic," said his wife, Amina - but even though he could launch a legal battle, Willie has neither the funds nor enthusiasm to keep on fighting.
"He's not a bitter person," she added. "But other people are angry, because it happens to so many young, Black men who don't have the money to fight any charges.
"It enrages people, to be honest. But Willie's not like that."
Amina says Willie, whose daily routine still involves him waking up at 4 am and going to bed early, is the perfect employee with a caring heart, helping out anyone who asks.
He gets his hands dirty at home too.
"You should see our yard," said proud Amina. "It's beautiful."
Grappling with cell phones and navigating the internet has caused a few headaches, as has being able to properly communicate with people on a social level after spending so long behind bars.
Amina, who used to work as a volunteer in a women's correctional facility in Gainesville, says the couple is looking at entering into counseling to deal with some of the issues sparked by his reintegration into society.
But he's learning to adapt to modern life with a smile and a steely determination to enjoy his time after having four decades ripped away from him.
Even trying on clothes after being caged for so long, was a "weird experience," according to Willie
He wants to take a Caribbean cruise with his wife, whom he married after his release from prison, visit Europe, and spend time with the sons he left as children.
And now, thanks to his exoneration, he has been given the green light to go back into prisons and impart some of his knowledge and know-how to current inmates.
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"I am just happy to be out and able to watch the sunsets with my wife," he smiled.
"What I went through was terrible. I am out now though. I have to enjoy my life. What else can I do?”
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