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JACKSON, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Wayne County man who spent 17 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted has been released after efforts by the Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project.
Big picture view:
Cooley Law said they partnered with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit to secure the release of Detroit man Dell Crawford, who spent 17 years in prison for being wrongfully convicted of second-degree murder. He was represented by Innocence Project attorneys Jessa Webber and Niquole Caringi.
On Tuesday, Crawford's conviction and sentence were vacated by Wayne County Judge Tracy Green, and his charge was dismissed without prejudice.
In court, Caringi said that DNA evidence excluded the Detroit man from the crime.
"At the time of trial, there was no physical evidence implicating Mr. Crawford, and the case was based largely on the changing statements of a witness," Caringi said. "The DNA exclusion under the victim’s fingernails demonstrates what Mr. Crawford has been telling us for the last 17 years: That he had nothing to do with this crime."
"Your conviction was not the only tragedy here," Green said. "There is perhaps someone out there who has gotten away with the murder of Miss Williams and that is almost has disturbing as the amount of time you have spent in prison as an innocent man."
The backstory:
Cooley Law said on Sept. 10, 2007, Crawford went to the home of Tatanisha "Joy" Williams in Detroit after not being able to contact her. There he discovered her body inside. They say Crawford had to get help from a friend to enter Willams’ home. That is when the two men discovered Williams’ body along with two of her children.
Crawford called 911 and took the children to their grandmother’s house.
An autopsy was conducted and determined Williams' cause of death to be brain injuries from being struck in the head. Meanwhile, they found the presence of defensive wounds on the fingers of both of her hands.
They say DNA testing at the time of trial did not detect the presence of male DNA under her fingernails.
Crawford went on trial and was convicted based on testimony from an unreliable witness, according to Cooley Law, whose story changed multiple times over the course of the investigation and prosecution.
During his trial, the jury acquitted Crawford of first-degree murder, but convicted him of second-degree murder. He was then sentenced to 20–45 years in prison.
Dig deeper:
Years later, the Cooley Innocence Project collaborated with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit to obtain DNA testing of evidence collected during the original investigation.
In October 2024, Williams' fingernails were submitted for DNA testing at a private laboratory where they were processed for male DNA. The results showed a mixture of two males but excluded Crawford as a contributor to the major male DNA profile.
"As we all know, nothing and no one can give Mr. Crawford those lost years back," Caringi said. "But I’m honored to stand before you today, prepared to welcome him back to the community that he was taken from. I’ve been working with him for some time now and have seen what an intelligent, kind and entrepreneurial man he is, and I know the community is going to gain a lot if he is welcomed back into it."
The Source: FOX 2 used information from Cooley Law School for this report.