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Innocent Ohio Man Paid $750,000 for 10 Years Imprisonment
Loaded on May 15, 2004
published in Prison Legal News
May, 2004, page 35
In 1991, Jimmy "Spunk" Williams, 32, was convicted of raping a 12 year-old girl, and sentenced to life in prison. Williams was appointed attorney Tom Watkins to represent him at a December 2001 parole hearing. Convinced of Williams' innocence, Watkins set up a meeting with the victim's father. Three months …
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More from this issue:
- Prisons Nationwide Fail to Treat HCV Epidemic, by John E Dannenberg
- BOP Doctor Indicted, Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault, by Bob Williams
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $50,000 HCV Settlement and New Treatment Protocol Approved in Colorado, by Bob Williams
- Colorado Slammed by West Nile Virus But Ignores Prisoners, by Bob Williams
- Denial of Grievance Forms Excuses Failure to Exhaust
- Florida Work Release Prisoners Ripped Off by Private Transport Company, by David Reutter
- Excessive Heat Still Plagues Baltimore Women Detainees, by Bob Williams
- Another Troubled North Carolina Jail, by Michael Rigby
- Third-Party Beneficiaries Can Enforce Terms of Settlement, by Bob Williams
- Virginia Legislature Awards Wrongfully Convicted Man $1.5 Million
- $13,500 Damages Paid to Two Illegally Detained Washington DOC Prisoners
- Mandamus Available to Review Oregon Disciplinary Orders
- PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applied to Non-Prison Case
- Missed HIV Medication Did Not Create a Serious Medical Need
- Washington Medical Claim Reinstated
- California Rules Violation for "Repeated Pattern" Must Involve Same Offense
- Private Settlement Agreement Prohibits Award of Attorney Fees and Costs, by David Reutter
- County Public Defender Liable for Wrongful Conviction
- Physical Injury Rule Doesn't Bar Strip Search Suit
- Local Rule Cannot Justify Summary Judgment When Factual Dispute Exists, by David Reutter
- Beating Judgment for Jail Affirmed on Appeal; Costs Issue Remanded
- PHS Liable for Denying Insulin to Diabetic New Jersey Jail Prisoner
- New Jersey Prisoners May Confront Accusers in Disciplinary Hearings, by Michael Rigby
- New Jersey Supreme Court Upholds $1.6 Million Harassment Verdict
- Two Level Review Required for Publication Rejection, but Qualified Immunity Granted
- BOP Rule Denying Early Release Eligibility Violates APA
- Certification for Interlocutory Appeal Order Discussed in California Prison Labor Suit
- Discipline Without Notice Violates Due Process; BOP Administrative Exhaustion May Be Excused
- No Ex Post Facto Violation in Forcing Washington Prisoner to Take Stress and Anger Classes
- New Trial Ordered in Washington Strip Cell Conditions Suit
- Pretrial Detainee Has Limited Right to Litigate Civil Matters
- Applicability of FTCA to BOP Causes Circuit Split, by David Reutter
- $15 Million Award for Wrongful Conviction Upheld
- Absence of AEDPA in Texas Law Library May Toll Limitations
- NYPD Commissioner Charged With Stealing $112,733.98 from Jail Prisoner Fund
- Dismissal Sanction for Prisoner's Refusal to Be Deposed Without Court Order Reversed
- Kansas Grievance Procedures Inapplicable in Negligence Action
- Illinois County Necessary Party in Suit Against Elected Official
- Confinement for Willful Failure to Pay LFOs Upheld
- No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witnesses, and Other Tyrannies of Our Times, by Robert Woodman
- Texas Monitors Prisoners for-Signs of Al-Qaeda Recruitment
- Virginia Prison Vendors Lose Contracts to Out-of-State Supplier, by Gary Hunter
- BOP Medical Detainees Not Subject to PLRA
- Jailhouse Snitch Enlisted in War on Terrorism Behind Bars, by Bob Williams
- Innocent Ohio Man Paid $750,000 for 10 Years Imprisonment
- Tennessee Officials Pay $450,000 to Settle Lawsuit in Detainee's Murder by Guards, by David Reutter
- Texas Probation Officer Charged With Having Juvenile Probationer's Baby, by Gary Hunter
- $252,000 Awarded in Kansas Prisoner's Suicide
- Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction to Grow Long Hair, by David Reutter
- Dismissal of Prisoner's Divorce Petition Is Abuse of Discretion
- DOJ Investigation: Conditions in Arkansas Prisons Unconstitutional, by Michael Rigby
- Washington Prisoners Get Credit for Time Spent at Liberty
- Tennessee Supreme Court Holds No Procedural Protection Needed for $5 Fine
- California's New Governor Must Reconsider Former Governor's Parole Reversal, by John E Dannenberg
- Washington Failure to Disclose Prison-Phone-Rate Suit Dismissed, State Supreme Court Grants Review, by Sam Rutherford
- Indiana Appeals Court Allows Prisoner to Sue to Receive Pornography
- News in Brief
- Minnesota Pay-To-Stay Programs Don't Deliver
More from these topics:
- Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration, May 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Expert and Opinion Testimony.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Damages, Public Records, Public Records Act.
- Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans, Jan. 1, 2026. Prisoner Legal Assistance, Juries, Public Records, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Chicago Pays Exonerated Prisoners $7.5 Million, Bringing Total to $33.75 Million for Wrongful Convictions, Jan. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Fabrication of Evidence, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence, Withdrawal.
- $6.49 Million Settlement for 600,000 Prisoners in Massive CorrectCare Data Breach Class Action, Dec. 1, 2025. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Damages, Settlements, Privacy Act/Rights.
- Over $222,000 in Legal Costs and Fees Awarded to HRDC in Florida Records Suit Against Centurion, Dec. 1, 2025. Attorney Fee Awards, Costs, Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Public Records Act.
- SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, Nov. 1, 2025. Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Wrongful Conviction, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency, First Step Act, Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA), Specific Offenses, Controlled Substances, Weapons, Accuracy of Information, Depraved Indifference Murder, Evidence - Circumstantial, Theft, Failure to Disclose, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, New Trial - Motions for, Pleas Linked to Cooperation, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Selective Prosecution/Enforcement, Improper Comments, Official Report, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations.
- Nearly $528,000 Paid by Kansas Jail to Detainees Raped by Guards, Nov. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Failure to Train/Supervise, Monell Liability.
- $4 Million Verdict Returned in Colorado Jail Suicide Case, Nov. 1, 2025. Damages, Failure to Train/Supervise, Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.

