LaVone Hill celebrates his release from prison.
LaVone Hill celebrates his release from prison.
A judge has vacated the double murder conviction and sentence of Michigan Innocence Clinic client LaVone Hill, providing him the relief he has been seeking for more than 22 years.
Hill was convicted in 2002—in part due to the police corruption—of two murders he did not commit. Wayne County Judge Patricia Fresard dismissed the charges on October 23 following an investigation by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Conviction Integrity Unit.
The prosecutor’s office has said that it will not retry Hill.
“For almost 23 years, I’ve had to live with the reality of the nightmare that I may die in prison, an innocent man, based on misconduct and corruption in the Detroit Police Department, namely Sergeant Walter Bates,” Hill said.
“I am happy today to be a free man, but so sad for all of the innocent men I am leaving in prison behind me. I am also very sad that the families of the victims lost their loved ones and were lied to about me being the guy who killed them.”
Hill is the 44th wrongfully convicted person who has been freed by the work of the Michigan Innocence Clinic, housed at the University of Michigan Law School.
Michigan Innocence Clinic Co-Director Jenna Cobb said, “We thank the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit for recognizing this awful injustice and agreeing to release Mr. Hill after more than 22 years of wrongful incarceration for a murder that he did not commit.”
LaVone Hill, center, celebrates with members of his legal team following his release—from left, Michigan Innocence Clinic Fellow Olivia Vigiletti, 2L Kenneth Donaldson, 2L Ahmad Ibsais, MIC Co-Director Jenna Cobb, Isabelle Gross, ’24, and Alyse Geiger, ’24.
