Family rallies to proclaim Palmetto convict's innocence (with video)

MANATEE — He doesn’t know some of the youngest members of his family. He never got the chance to say goodbye to his father.

Derrick Williams, 47, has been in prison for the past 17 years, serving a life sentence after he was convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman Aug. 6, 1992 in Palmetto.

But Williams has always maintained his innocence. Now, based on new DNA testing of the two remaining pieces of evidence in the case, the Innocence Project of Florida agrees.

Attorneys with Innocence Project of Florida, a legal non-profit organization dedicated to proving prisoners’ innocence through DNA testing, filed a motion Tuesday to vacate Williams’ conviction. Innocence Project paid for the DNA testing at a private lab in Ohio.

“My grandfather went to his grave without being able to see his youngest son for the last time,” said Tawanda Means, Williams’ niece, who spoke on behalf of the family at a press conference Tuesday outside the Manatee County Judicial Center.

Instead of attending the funeral, Williams had to write a letter, which was read aloud at the service and placed in his father’s casket.

His youngest relatives are strangers.

“They don’t know Derrick. They don’t know what it’s like to give him a hug,” Means said. “They don’t know what it’s like to see him face to face.”

A re-opening of the case could also have a big effect on the life of the victim.

Cathy Wilson, a licensed mental health counselor and manager of the rape crisis program at Manatee Glens, said while rape survivors often move forward, they never forget the trauma they experienced.

“For anyone who has had a case overturned, that can bring them back to that night ... and really create difficult times for them to deal with,” Wilson said. “I don’t think anyone wants someone to go to prison if they aren’t guilty. If this is the person who hurt her, though, it could be really hard to take.”

Prosecutors plan to ask for a hearing and have 30 days to reply to Williams’ motion. It’s possible Williams could be acquitted or the case could be re-tried.

“We’ll be very happy to prove all of this in court if that’s what it takes,” said Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project.

Williams was convicted in 1993 of abducting the woman as she parked her car at her Palmetto residence Aug. 6, 1992.

The woman was forced into the passenger seat of her vehicle. Her attacker drove to 49th Street East, parked between some trees in an orange grove and told her to remove her jewelry before ordering her to the back seat, court documents show.

The woman tried to talk the attacker out of what he was doing, but he became enraged and started beating her with his fists. He went on to tie her up using her pantyhose.

He got out of the car with the engine running. The woman was able to free her hands and get behind the wheel to drive away, documents show.