Justice Pursued, livre ebook

An in-depth look at the reversal of a wrongful conviction in a noteworthy example of the justice system seeking to correct mistakes of the past

In 2019, Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams were released after almost 43 years in prison when murder charges against them were dismissed in the first exoneration brought about through a Conviction Integrity Review unit in Florida. Justice Pursued is the story of this wrongful conviction and its landmark reversal, which made headlines as it was initiated by the same state office that sought the death penalty for both men in 1976.

Journalist Bruce Horovitz describes in detail the events of the murder of Jeanette Williams and the one-sided trial, conviction, and life sentencing of Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams, drawing on first-person interviews as well as case documents, newspaper clippings, and other media coverage. Horovitz tells how the two men maintained their innocence for years and petitioned the state to reconsider the case. He highlights the creation of Florida’s first Conviction Integrity Review unit, which reinvestigated the evidence and helped overturn the original verdict. He also looks at the issue of compensating exonerees like Myers and Williams for time imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

Incorporating the perspectives of those involved in the initial case and its reexamination four decades later, this tragic story is also one of hope, perseverance, and vindication. Justice Pursued brings awareness to systemic failures in the criminal justice system, the toll these mistakes exact on victims, and the necessity of prosecutorial review in addressing the growing crisis of wrongful convictions in the United States.

Author’s Note

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Consolidation

Chapter 3. Boomerang

Chapter 4. Murder

Chapter 5. Pretrial

Chapter 6. Trial and Error?

Chapter 7. Invest in a Vest

Chapter 8. Fat Time

Chapter 9. Salvation

Chapter 10. Confession

Chapter 11. Lightning Strikes

Chapter 12. Conviction Integrity

Chapter 13. A Fox in the Henhouse

Chapter 14. Irony

Chapter 15. Reconstruction

Chapter 16. To Tell the Truth

Chapter 17. Shots Heard ’Round the Block

Chapter 18. Eyewitness?

Chapter 19. Audit

Chapter 20. Free at Last

Chapter 21. Beware of the Stare

Chapter 22. Clean Hands

Chapter 23. Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Appendix A

Appendix B

Notes

Index