An uncle and nephew who spent 42 years in jail have been freed after a judge overturned their convictions for attempted murder and murder.
76-year-old Clifford Williams and 61-year-old Hubert “Nathan” Myers shed tears after the judge read out the ruling, finally vindicating the uncle and nephew after years of trying to clear their names out of the case.
Clifford and Hubert are the first men to clear their names successfully since the attorney’s offices in Jacksonville started to look into claims of wrongful convictions.
This is the first attempt of Florida to help those people who are wrongfully convicted to clear their names out.
The men were seen kissing the ground and supporters praised the man up above for the ruling.
As Nathan Myers stood up, he said, “Thank you, lord Jesus Christ.”
As Mr. Myers spoke to the media, he said, “I’m nervous, you know, because I feel like I’m still locked up, he confessed. Once I get with my family and you can look back and not have any officers telling me what to do and how to do it, then reality hit me, I think I’ll be alright.”
76-year-old Clifford Williams said that the most heartbreaking thing about being behind the bars is that he never got to reconnect with those people who were the closest to him and to those who passed away.
Mr. Williams said, “Well, my mother died while I was on death row, and I just wanted to get out and be with my kids. There was nobody but them.”
Mr. Myers was only 18-year-old when he was sentenced to life imprisonment and said he now wants to see his family members, he added, ‘everything else is second’.
61-year-old Hubert “Nathan” Myers also thanked Mellissa Nelson the attorney general who reopened their case.
76-year-old Clifford Williams and 61-year-old Hubert “Nathan” Myers were sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of Jeanette Williams and the attempted murder of Nina Marshall in 1976, both men were friends with Jeanette and Nina.
Jeanette Williams passed away instantly and Nina Marshall made it to the hospital, she later said that Myers and Williams were the ones who shot them.
76-year-old Clifford Williams and 61-year-old Hubert “Nathan” Myers said that they were attending a birthday party which was held a block away from the shooting, witnesses also backed their claim.
The first trial of the 2 men ended up in a mistrial, but despite having no physical evidence that linked the men to the crime, they were both sentenced during their second trial.