CEDRIC WILLIS



In June 1994, Cedric Willis, who was then 19 years old, was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for two crimes: for the June 12th attack on a couple in their driveway as they retuned home late at night and the rape of the wife and robbery and shooting in the leg of the husband; and second for the June 16th robbery of a family at gunpoint in their driveway as they returned home and the shooting of the father of the family in the leg. Cedric Willis was arrested and charged with all of these crimes (including by then, the capital murder of the father as he had died from his wounds). All of the victims gave similar descriptions of the perpetrator and ballistics testing showed the same gun was used in both crimes. All of the victims identified Cedric Willis from a never-disclosed photo array and then later in line ups.

The same gun was also used in at least 3 other armed robberies committed within a 2-hour time frame of the murder of Carl White Jr. in which the robbery victims were shot in the leg, but none of those victims would identify Cedric Willis as the perpetrator.

A year after Cedric's arrest, DNA testing performed on the rape kit taken from the rape victim revealed a male profile that did not match Cedric Willis or her husband. At the insistence of the State, the kit was re-tested and again excluded Cedric Willis as the perpetrator.

The State of Mississippi then dropped the rape charges against Cedric Willis and re-indicted him on only the robbery of the Whites and the murder of Carl White Jr.. The State of Mississippi then moved to prevent Cedric Willis from being allowed to introduce the DNA test results at his armed robbery and murder trial and the court agreed that they should be kept out. Neither would the court allow Cedric Willis to present evidence of the 3 other robberies committed with the same gun within a 2-hour time period of the robbery of the Whites and the murder of Carl White Jr., for which Cedric Willis had a tight alibi and in which none of the victims could identify him and in which the police had numerous eyewitness reports describing the car used and its occupants which in no way linked Cedric Willis to the string of robberies.

Cedric Willis was effectively forced to trial with his hands tied in 1997. The jury, who heard only the compelling eyewitness testimony of the murder victim's family, convicted him quickly and he was sentenced to life in prison (for the murder) plus ninety years (thirty years each for the robbery of each of the rest of the murder victim's family). In September 2005, the Circuit Court of Hinds County reversed Cedric Willis's conviction and granted him a new trial on all counts. On March 6, 2006, Judge Tomie Green determined that the eyewitness identifications were inadmissible at a new trial and, upon joint motion of the defense and the State, dismissed the charges against him. An hour later, Cedric Willis walked down the front steps of the Hinds County jail into the arms of his family and supporters.

Cedric, now living and employed in Jackson, MS, travels around the state sharing his story with others and advocating for the work of the Innocence Project.
 

Back to Cases