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After 36 Years in a Louisiana Prison for a Rape He Didn’t Commit, Archie Williams Wins Freedom — and a TV Show Spotlight
by Casey Bastian
The story of Archie Williams shocks and inspires. A Black man spent 36 years in a Louisiana prison for the rape and stabbing of a White woman before his 2019 release. There was just one problem: Williams was innocent.
Despite this experience, Williams has maintained a warm ...
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More from this issue:
- Jail Suicides in Massachusetts Point to National Crisis: Challenging Legislatures to Say Not One More, by Jennifer Honig
- Government Refuses to Follow Federal Court’s Discovery Order After Being Caught Recording Attorney Meetings with Prisoners at Leavenworth, by Dale Chappell
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Mississippi Joins Illinois and Few Other States Prioritizing Vaccination of State Prisoners to Slow Spread of COVID-19, by Derek Gilna
- Pandemic Medical Update: “Herd Immunity” at Prisons?, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Texas Winter Storm Freezes Plumbing, Power and Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Massachusetts Governor Ends Good Time Offer for Prisoners Taking COVID-19 Vaccine, by David Reutter
- Connecticut Lawmakers Refuse to Address Corrections Issues During Pandemic, by Anthony Accurso
- Confidential Settlement in Case Involving Alleged Pattern of Racist Misconduct in Michigan Prisons, by Casey Bastian
- California Trans Women Struggle For Protection Under Prison Rape Elimination Act, by Edward Lyon
- Oklahoma Prisoners Call for Better Nutrition, by Kevin Bliss
- Florida Jail Administrators Fired After Woman Gives Birth in Cell, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Holiday Cards for Prisoners: Let’s End Collective Punishment in U.S. Prisons, by Sandy Rozek
- Virginia Settles Two Lawsuits Over Misuse of Solitary Confinement, by Daniel A. Rosen
- COVID-19 Inspired Ban on Prison Visits in Texas Ends, by Chad Marks
- Activist, Political Prisoner, and Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal Diagnosed With COVID-19, Energizing Calls for His Release, by Juliette LaMarr
- COVID-19 Pandemic Makes Job Hunting Especially Difficult for Ex-Offenders, by Kevin Bliss
- U.S. Sues Alabama Over Prison Conditions, by David Reutter
- Florida Prison Guard Indicted in Prisoner Death by Blunt Force Trauma, by David Reutter
- Michigan Begins Video Visits During Coronavirus Pandemic, by David Reutter
- Hawaii Fails to Provide Video of Two Prison Disturbances, by Edward Lyon
- California Prison Factories Fined For Exposing Unwitting Workers to COVID-19, by Mark Wilson
- Sixth Circuit Upholds Prisoner’s 18 U.S.C. § 111 Conviction for Assaulting Federally Contracted Private Prison Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- "Conservative New York County Enacts Progressive Transgender Prisoner Policy", by Mark Wilson
- COVID-19 Depletes State Prison Staffs Nationwide, Forcing Consolidation of Facilities and Increasing Risk to All, by Derek Gilna
- After 36 Years in a Louisiana Prison for a Rape He Didn’t Commit, Archie Williams Wins Freedom — and a TV Show Spotlight, by Casey Bastian
- COVID-19 Continues Rampage Through Pennsylvania State Prisons, by Derek Gilna
- $105,000 Settlement in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, by David Reutter
- Alabama Jails and Prisoners Swamped With COVID-Related Problems, by Daniel A. Rosen
- How States Exclude People With Criminal Records From Jury Service, by Dale Chappell
- Study Shows Misaligned Economic Incentives Fuel Mass Incarceration, by Matthew Clarke
- California Enacts Legislation Strengthening Protections for LGBTQ Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Baltimore Demolishes Maryland’s Oldest Penitentiary, Burying Its Nostalgia And Nightmares, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Books: “Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty”, by Robert Dunham
- Florida Senator Wants to Keep Ex-Prisoners from Earning the $15 Minimum Wage Increase, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Prisoner Becomes Activist for LBGTQ Rights in California Prisons
- Parnall Correctional Facility in Michigan Copes with Scabies Outbreak, by Kevin Bliss
- Fourth Circuit: Deaf North Carolina Prisoner Should be Allowed Direct Videophone Calls to Communicate with Deaf Community, by David Reutter
- People in jails are using more phone minutes during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite decreased jail populations, by Andrea Fenster
- Ransomware Attack on GEO Group Exposes Sensitive Information, by Matthew Clarke
- Hundreds of Virginia Inmates Await Parole Consideration Under New Law, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Colorado’s Governor Bows to Pressure in Denying State Prisoners Priority COVID-19 Vaccinations, by Derek Gilna
- More Than 40 Immigrants Have Died in ICE Custody, by Anthony Accurso
- Experts Divided on Drug Court Effectiveness, by Kevin Bliss
- Secrecy Surrounded Flurry of Late-Term Federal Executions Under Donald Trump, by Derek Gilna
- New Advocacy Group for New Mexico Prisoners Created, by Dale Chappell
- Vermont Prisoner’s Death Under Investigation: Did Implicit Bias Play Role?, by Kevin Bliss
- News in Brief
More from Casey Bastian:
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025
- Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Rise of Mass Supervision: From Rehabilitative Alternative to Shadow Carceral State, Oct. 1, 2024
- Demonstrable Remorse, Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Alternatives to Incarceration, Aug. 1, 2024
- Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled, Aug. 1, 2024
- The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death, July 15, 2024
- Four Dead in One Month in San Bernardino County Jails, $3,232,500 in Settlements Paid So Far, March 1, 2024
- Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, Dec. 15, 2023
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022, Oct. 1, 2023
- Two Dead and $4.675 Million Paid After Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct in California’s Sonoma County, Sept. 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- $7.75 Million Settlement for Exonerated North Carolina Prisoner, June 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Massachusetts Prisoner for Wrongful Conviction, June 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Kansas Supreme Court Denies Compensation to Former Prisoner Whose Conviction Was Overturned, May 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Damages - Compensatory.
- New Orleans Public Defender’s “Redeem Team” Says: “Re-entry Is Never Over”, May 1, 2025. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Life without Parole (LWOP), Juveniles, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Remands/Rehearings/Resentencings.
- Texas Courts, Legislature at Odds over Executing Potentially Innocent Death Row Prisoner, May 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Death Penalty/Death Row, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Opposition to the Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Los Angeles County Pays $24 Million to Two Former Prisoners Wrongly Convicted as Teens of 1997 Murder, May 1, 2025. Informants, Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, False Exculpatory Statements.
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025. junk science, Wrongful Conviction, Fingerprint Evidence.
- Nearly 150 Exonerations in 2024 Highlight Persistent Flaws in U.S. Criminal Justice System, April 15, 2025. Criminal justice system reform, Wrongful Conviction.
- Connecticut Compensates Exonerated Prisoners, Reforms Policing, April 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Settlements, Wrongful Conviction.
- Biden Clemency Recipients Included Virginians Sentenced for “Acquitted Conduct”, April 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Pardons/Clemency, False Confessions, Drug Laws/Offenses.