Herman Williams

Summary

Herman Williams was a decorated member of the U.S Navy based at the Naval Station Great Lakes when was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life without parole for the 1993 murder of his ex-wife, Penny. Herman was wrongfully imprisoned nearly 30 years until a judge overturned his conviction based on new evidence, which included advanced DNA testing on key biological evidence that excluded him.

‍Anyone who knows me knows I couldn’t have done this

In August 2022, Herman Williams walked out of prison, finally free after nearly 30 years of being imprisoned as an innocent man.

Being proven innocent and regaining his freedom “is still sinking in but I feel vindicated,” he said. “A terrible, horrible thing happened to a wonderful woman and I couldn’t believe people thought I did it. Anybody who knows me knows I couldn’t have done this, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Factors contributing to wrongful conviction

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office acknowledged numerous factors contributing to Herman’s 1994 conviction: that it was based on scientifically unsupported forensic pathology testimony regarding the victim’s time of death; that the original prosecution hid favorable evidence; and that lead Detective Lou Tessman, who claimed Herman “confessed,” is now known to have engaged in a pattern of misconduct, including securing false confessions and claiming suspects made admissions of guilt in other innocence cases. New evidence of Herman’s innocence also included advanced DNA testing that excluded him from key biological evidence.

At the time of Penny’s murder, she and Herman had two young children they were parenting together. “This horrific crime not only robbed two children of their mother, because of a flawed investigation, lies from police and prosecutors and withheld evidence, it also took away their father,” IIP Co-Director and Herman’s attorney Lauren Kaeseberg says. “Herman lost nearly three decades of his life and his children grew up thinking their own father killed their mother. We have to push for more accountability and transparency among law enforcement and prosecutors to prevent more families from being torn apart by wrongful conviction.”

A family reunited

Herman’s sister, Carolyn, and their father, Sonny, traveled from Arizona for the hearing. Matt, Herman’s friend from when they were stationed in the Navy together, drove from California so he could drive Herman home to Arizona when he was released. 

Herman's IIP legal team worked on his case for over eight years to secure his freedom. His team included UIS student interns and volunteers, and law students from the University of Illinois Chicago Law School and Northern Illinois University College of Law. Herman is represented by IIP Co-Director Lauren Kaeseberg and Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project. IIP staff members Lynn Bagley, Karen Meidel and Claire Oettel, among others, provided invaluable work and support.