LaVone Hill
Wayne County Chief Circuit Judge Patricia Perez Fresard, who sentenced LaVone Hill to life in prison 22 years ago, apologized to him Wednesday for his wrongful conviction in two Detroit murders and ordered him released from the state prison in Muskegon, the Detroit News reports.
The judge made her ruling after hearing livestreamed testimony from the director of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Conviction Integrity Unit, who accused former Detroit Police Sgt. Walter Bates of pressuring the sole witness in the case into falsely implicating Hill in a double homicide that occurred during a Sept. 8, 2001, dice game, George Hunter of the News writes.
"From day one, Your Honor, I have proclaimed my innocence," the 47-year-old Hill told the judge from prison during the virtual court hearing. "I did not do this crime. I was not even there when this crime took place. I’ve sat in prison for almost 23 years because of the misconduct of the Detroit Police Department."
