A historic initiative has been launched on International Wrongful Conviction Day by Timothy T. Williams, an expert on Police Procedure, Use of Force & Wrongful Conviction
Los Angeles, CA — It is estimated that 2.3 million people are currently incarcerated in the United States, and approximately 2 – 10% (40,000 – 230,000) are wrongfully convicted. Since a majority of wrongful conviction cases do not have DNA evidence, it can sometimes take years, even decades, to prove the innocence of a wrongfully convicted person. However, such legal personnel cannot afford to work pro bono long-term and most convicted persons seeking exoneration cannot afford legal representation. Per Santa Clara University of Law, some cases can cost more than $2 million and an estimated 5,000 attorney hours or more to win the freedom of a wrongfully convicted person.
Launching in October 2020, the Timothy T. Williams, Jr. Foundation for Wrongful Convictions (TTWFWC) is making history by providing attorneys, experts, and criminal investigators with grant funding that embraces their prevailing industry rates to work as teams on state and federal wrongful conviction cases nationwide. In response to the national crisis of wrongful convictions, TTWFWC sets itself apart by funding the exoneration process from beginning to end. TTWFWC will also provide continuing education and professional development workshops to the next generation of expert witnesses, criminal investigators, and attorneys.
Established by Timothy T. Williams, Jr., TTWFWC aims to exonerate at least one wrongfully convicted person by 2025. Mr. Williams is somewhat of a “hidden figure” as an African American national leading expert on police procedure, use of force, and wrongful conviction. Also, as an author and retired Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Senior Detective Supervisor, with more than 46 years of experience working in the criminal justice system, Mr. Williams is the perfect person to launch such a historic endeavor. “I am delighted to support International Wrongful Conviction Day! Moreover, I decided to launch a project that will fund legal teams that include lawyers, experts, and criminal investigators to scale up pro bono efforts that can save lives,” says Williams.
Since the debut of his consultancy practice in 2003, T.T. Williams, Jr., Investigations, Inc., Mr. Williams has provided expert testimony in more than 200 cases in Criminal, State and Federal Courts nationwide. Also, he has analyzed over 1,300 cases. Most notably, Williams’ expert analysis in the wrongful murder conviction of Kash D. Register helped to lead to the largest reported settlement, at that time, in an individual civil rights case in the history of Los Angeles, totaling $16.7 million in restitution in 2016. The Timothy T. Williams, Jr. Foundation for Wrongful Convictions has been endorsed by some of the most recognizable names in law, including Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent (LPI) and award-winning trial lawyer Thomas Mesereau. To learn more about TTWFWC, or donate to the organization’s worthy cause, visit www.TTWFWC.org.
About the Timothy T. Williams, Jr. Foundation for Wrongful Convictions (TTWFWC)
Timothy T. Williams, Jr. Foundation for Wrongful Convictions (TTWFWC) is operating as a project of Players Philanthropy Fund, a Maryland charitable trust recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178). Contributions to Timothy T. Williams, Jr. Foundation for Wrongful Convictions (TTWFWC) are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
About International Wrongful Conviction Day
International Wrongful Conviction Day is a day to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful convictions and to recognize the tremendous personal, social, and emotional costs of wrongful convictions for innocent people and their families. Wrongful Conviction Day began as an effort of the Innocence Network, an affiliation of organizations dedicated to providing pro-bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted, working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions, and supporting the exonerated after they are freed. Friday, October 2, 2020, commemorates the seventh annual International Wrongful Conviction Day.
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