Willie Earl Green was sent to prison in 1983 for the murder of a woman in a
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
crack house
A drug house (also called a trap house or drug den) is a residence used in the illegal drug trade. Drug houses shelter drug users and provide a place for drug dealers to supply them. Drug houses can also be used as laboratories to synthesize ( ...
, but after a change in testimony, authorities released him from prison in March 2008.
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]
The incriminating witness, Willie Finley, had placed Green at the scene and helped police identify him as the murderer. Mr. Finley altered his recollection, and L.A. County
Superior Court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
Judge
Stephen A. Marcus exonerated Green, stopping short of declaring him innocent, but declaring that had the jury known the new version of events, they would have not found him guilty. Susan Breyer, the forewoman of the jury who had originally found him guilty, had come to believe in his innocence and was at the prison when Green was released, stating: "I, they, took 24 years of his life."
While Green had been involved in drugs and petty crimes before imprisonment, he attributes prison to have turned his life around. While in prison he earned an
Associate of Arts
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
degree and ran life skills programs for inmates helping them with anger management and parenting skills. While Green was in prison, in 1999, his father died. Green also got married in prison.
Quotes
* "The system that put me in here was the same system that got me out. It's not perfect, but it's the best system in the world."
* "I was wrongly accused. I'm out now, I'm not bitter. I'm happy today."
The Denise "Dee Dee" Walker case
The Denise "Dee Dee" Walker case involves the execution-style shotgun
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
woman named Denise "Dee Dee" Walker on August 9, 1983.
Walker's mother told police that her daughter had been the victim of an assault and robbery in 1982. Two men had been arrested in that case: Willie Green and his cousin, who was Walker's companion at the time. Both men pleaded guilty to grand theft of a television set. Green lived shortly at Walker's apartment in 1982.
The single mother had been preparing
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
in the kitchen of Willie Finley at the day of her death, on August 9, 1983, when an unknown man dragged Finley inside the home after pistol-whipping him on a sidewalk. Within moments, a second intruder entered a back door of the apartment with a shotgun. Finley testified that the newcomer beat him again with the weapon. After stealing money from a bedroom, the second intruder returned to the kitchen, exchanged weapons with his accomplice and left. Moments later, Finley testified, he heard the first suspect yell to Walker, "you're the only one who knows me," followed by multiple shotgun blasts. But instead of calling for help as Walker lay dying with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, Finley scoured his house for drugs the gunmen missed. Green told police he was in the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
on August 9, 1983, the time of the murder. But he also had no one to corroborate his alibi.
In September 1983, Finley was arrested and charged with selling drugs. At that time, police showed him mug shots of possible suspects in the Walker case, but Finley was unable to identify anyone. Detectives interviewed Finley again in jail, showing him additional photographs of possible suspects, this time including Green. By that time, Finley had been informed about Green's prior encounter with Walker and tentatively identified him as the second intruder, claiming he heard Denise Walker scream "Willie." Prosecutors cited Walker's use of the name as crucial evidence that she was referring to Willie Green, because most of Willie Finley's friends called him Doug. However, Los Angeles police detectives found no evidence connecting Green to the crime. The judge stated that Finley lied when he said he was not under the influence of cocaine at the time of the murder or when he was testifying.
In February 2008, Green proclaimed his innocence to
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
's documentary unit during an interview inside his prison cell at California's
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
.
The graying 56-year-old Green walked out of the
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
courtroom as a free man on March 20, 2008, after serving nearly 25 years in prison for a crime, which he insists he never committed.
In his March 20, 2008-
acquittal
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
the judge ruled the relationship between Walker and Green probably played a significant role in the
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
's decision to convict. He also stated that Finley lied when he said he was not under the influence of cocaine at the time of the murder or when he was testifying.
Green earned a college degree in the years from 1983 to 2008 while in prison. He claimed in an interview that he was once a freedom marcher in Mississippi fighting for civil rights and social justice during the
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
era from 1953 to 1968.
Until March 2008 the Walker's case has never been solved.
See also
*
List of wrongful convictions in the United States
This list of wrongful convictions in the United States includes people who have been legally exonerated, including people whose convictions have been overturned or vacated, and who have not been retried because the charges were dismissed by the s ...
References
External links
Judge voids conviction in '83 killing LA Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
, Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 11, 2008.
Willie Earl Green ReleasedPhoto gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Willie Earl
Living people
Overturned convictions in the United States
American people wrongfully convicted of murder
Year of birth missing (living people)