A Detroit man was exonerated Wednesday after spending 22 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit — in part because the cop who put him behind bars was a serial bank robber.
LaVone Hill, 47, walked free after Judge Patricia Fresard vacated his double murder conviction and dismissed the charges against him. He had previously been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
“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 in a statement released by the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic.
Sgt. Bates was a member of the Detroit Police Department who handled Hill’s case. Hill was convicted at trial in 2002 based on a witness statement.
That witness, Andre Meredith, signed a statement prior to the trial that he’d seen Hill fatally shoot two men, Dushawn Luchie and Ronald Craft, on a street in Detroit.
But upon taking the stand, Meredith recanted and claimed that Bates coerced his prior statement. Bates testified that Meredith provided the statement on his own free will. The jury believed Bates and convicted Hill on both counts of murder.
However, at the time of his testimony, and unknown to the defense, Bates was suspended by Detroit police. He was later convicted in federal court of masterminding a series of bank robberies in the area.
Hill had maintained his innocence for decades and filed multiple petitions, which were rejected.
“I was not even there when this crime took place,” Hill told the judge. “I’ve sat in prison for almost 23 years because of the misconduct of the Detroit Police Department.”
