On September 15, 1993, two gunmen entered a home in Detroit, Michigan, and murdered Lavonda Brown and her son, 20-year old Douglas Williams. Detroit police rounded up a number of suspects, questioning them for hours, including Wilson Rivera. Wilson had a solid alibi for that night. Not only that - the shooter had actually confessed to Wilson that heβd done it. βI asked Roger, like, what's going on?β Wilson recalls. βAnd he explained to me what had actually taken place with the murder. Iβm assuming the facts are gonna bear me out.β But one by one, the other suspects were dropped from the investigation. By the time the trial began, Wilson was the only one left.
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The Wrongful Conviction podcast, hosted by Jason Flom and Khaliah Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali), has featured over 500 cases of men and women who spent years β sometimes decades β in prison for crimes they did not commit. The podcast has been downloaded over 70 million times and has directly influenced exonerations, clemencies, and criminal justice reform legislation across the country.