Grant Williams

On July 22, 2021, a judge overturned Grant Williams' murder conviction after he served 23 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He is the first person to ever have a conviction overturned in Staten Island. 

Williams was convicted in 1997 for the murder of Shdell Lewis on April 5, 1996 outside of the Stapleton housing compex. He was actually working at the Wu-Tang studios that day. The trial ended without any forensic evidence or surveillance video to link the defendant to the scene of the crime.

"I used to tell everybody in prison I'm innocent. They say, 'Ah Williams, everybody says that.' I said, 'I'm telling you the truth, one day you're going to see me on the news, and they're going to see that I was innocent' And today's that day."

Williams earned his associate's degree in prison and started working on a bachelor's. “I just want to say to everybody, you never know how much strength you have until it’s tested,” he said. “When you’re placed in a situation where you actually have to survive, that’s where your strength kicks in for me."