Man exonerated 22 years after false witness statement sent him to prison for double murder in Detroit
LaVone Hill, center, celebrates with members of his legal team following his release—from left, Michigan Innocence Clinic Fellow Olivia Vigiletti, 2L Kenneth Donaldson, 2L Ahmad Ibsais, MIC Co-Director Jenna Cobb, Isabelle Gross, 24, and Alyse Geiger
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A man who spent two decades in prison after a false witness statement was used to convict him of murder is home.
LaVone Hill, 47, was convicted of killing two people during a dice game in Detroit in September 2001 and sentenced to life in prison in 2002. However, that sentence was the result of a fudged witness statement written by police, according to the Michigan Innocence Clinic.
After the shooting, a supposed witness to the murders was taken into custody on unrelated drug charges. While detained, Detroit Police Sgt. Walter Bates wrote a statement for the witness to sign. That witness could not read or write proficiently, the Innocence Clinic said.
The alleged witness signed the statement, which said he saw Hill shoot the two victims while walking down the street. He was the only witness police had, and he later recanted the statement on the stand. The witness also said Bates coerced the statement out of him, a claim Bates denied on the stand.
While Hill's trial was ongoing, Bates was suspended from Detroit police numerous times, though his suspensions were never revealed in court. Additionally, after the conviction, Bates was later convicted of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery after he used his police experience to be the mastermind behind a string of bank robberies as the Hill case was pending.
Wayne County Judge Patricia Fresard vacated Hill's conviction on Oct. 23 after it was reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Conviction Integrity Unit.
"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."
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the case will not be re-tried.
"I cannot say whether this defendant is guilty or not guilty of this crime. This is what I can say definitively: Former Sgt. Bates’ testimony in Mr. Hill’s trial was a pivotal part of his case," she said in a statement after the conviction was dismissed.
Worthy noted that the assistant prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge were all unaware of the criminal behavior Bates was involved in during the trial.
"It is clear that Mr. Hill did not receive a fair trial. He will not be retried because there is no way in the world that this office would put Walter Bates on any witness stand," Worthy said. "Not much shocks me anymore, but this did. I have never seen anything like this in all of my decades of being a judge or a prosecutor."