Shawn Williams, an African American man from New York City who served 24 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, has finally been awarded a $10.5 million settlement years after his conviction has been overturned.
Williams was only 19-years old when he was charged with killing his neighbor Marvin Mason in Brooklyn, New York in 1993. In August 1994, Williams was convicted for the fatal shooting and was sentenced to 25 years to life.
Without any forensic evidence connecting Williams to the murder, the prosecutors relied on the testimony of a woman who said she saw him at the crime scene with a gun.
