A judge has vacated the double murder conviction and sentence of Michigan Innocence Clinic (MIC) client LaVone Hill, providing him the relief he has been seeking for more than 22 years.
Hill was convicted in 2002—in part due to the police corruption—of two murders he did not commit. Wayne County Judge Patricia Fresard dismissed the charges on October 23 following an investigation by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Conviction Integrity Unit.
The prosecutor’s office has said that it will not retry Hill.
“For almost 23 years, I’ve had to live with the reality of the nightmare that I may die in prison, an innocent man, based on misconduct and corruption in the Detroit Police Department, namely Sergeant Walter Bates,” Hill said.
“I am happy today to be a free man, but so sad for all of the innocent men I am leaving in prison behind me. I am also very sad that the families of the victims lost their loved ones and were lied to about me being the guy who killed them.”
Hill is the 44th wrongfully convicted person who has been freed by the work of the Michigan Innocence Clinic, housed at the University of Michigan Law School.
Michigan Innocence Clinic Co-Director Jenna Cobb said, “We thank the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit for recognizing this awful injustice and agreeing to release Mr. Hill after more than 22 years of wrongful incarceration for a murder that he did not commit.
“This is a remarkable case involving a recanting witness, extreme instances of witness coercion by police, other witnesses who later confirmed that Mr. Hill was not present on the night of the shooting, and an apology from the true perpetrator. While Mr. Hill will never get back the many years he lost in prison, today we join Mr. Hill in celebrating his release and looking forward to the impact he will make outside of prison walls.”
A false statement and a life sentence
On September 8, 2001, two people were shot and killed following a dice game in Detroit.
A few nights later, police picked up a supposed witness to the shooting on unrelated drug charges. The witness—who could neither read nor write proficiently—was detained for seven days, during which Sergeant Walter Bates of the Detroit Police Department wrote a false statement for him to sign. The false statement said that the witness saw Hill shoot the victims with a handgun while walking down the street.
No other witness ever implicated LaVone Hill in the crime.
During the 2002 trial, the witness recanted his false statement implicating Hill. He testified that Hill had not been present on the night of the shooting and that Bates had coerced his false statement. Bates testified that he had not.
On September 6, 2002, Hill was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
New evidence led to vacated decision
The decision to vacate Hill’s convictions comes after the discovery of several pieces of new evidence by Hill’s attorneys at the Michigan Innocence Clinic, including:
- Two independent witnesses who had been present the night of the shooting swore that Hill had not been present at the dice game where the shooting took place.
- New ballistics evidence confirmed that a high-powered rifle was used in the killings rather than a handgun, as stated in the prior witness’s recanted statement.
- The son of one of the victims of the crime said that another man had confessed to killing his father.
New evidence also showed that Bates was suspended from the police force multiple times during Hill’s case—including while he testified in the case, a fact that was not disclosed to either the defense or the jury at the time of trial.
Moreover, Bates, who had amassed significant gambling debt, was using his experience in the Detroit Police Department to mastermind a string of bank robberies while this case was pending. Bates was later convicted of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
Wednesday’s proceeding resulted in Hill’s immediate release from state custody in Muskegon, where his family, friends, and MIC advocates excitedly greeted him.
The Michigan Innocence Clinic is the first non-DNA innocence clinic in the country. In its 15-year history, the MIC has achieved 44 victories on behalf of its wrongfully convicted clients. MIC exonerees have served anywhere from a few months to 46 years in prison.
