A FRIENDSHIP FORGED IN HOPE
WILLIE T DONALD SPENT NEARLY 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME HE DIDN’T COMMIT. NOW HE AND CRIMINAL-JUSTICE EDUCATOR NICKY JACKSON HAVE VOWED TO HELP THE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED EVERYWHERE
For Willie “Timmy” Donald, February 27, 1992, was just an ordinary Thursday. Then 23, he spent a carefree afternoon with his older sister and her fiancé, tagging along as they went car shopping at multiple dealerships in the suburbs around their Gary, Indiana, hometown.
Meanwhile in Gary, a robbery spree was underway. A man with a gun was attacking six different families in their homes, demanding cash and fatally shooting one of his victims when he tried to resist.
The attacks occurred in Donald’s neighbourhood, but he didn’t even know they’d happened until five days later, when police appeared at his door. Two witnesses had selected Donald’s photo – erroneously in the system after he was a passenger in a car mistakenly reported stolen – and then identified him as the gunman in a line-up. Though his sister and her fiancé would later testify Donald was car shopping with them when the crimes occurred – and no physical or forensic evidence connected him to the attacks – Donald was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. “It was like I was in a twilight zone; they’re saying
you committed a crime you know nothing about,” says Donald, who had no prior criminal record. “It was a nightmare.”
And one that he would endure for the next 24 years. Convicted on all counts, Donald was sentenced to 60 years in prison. It wasn’t until January 25, 2016, after witnesses revealed reservations about Donald being the perpetrator and irregularities in the case were uncovered, that a judge vacated Donald’s conviction. Days later the Lake County State’s Attorney dismissed the charges, and Donald was released. When Donald finally got the news, “I dropped the phone,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it. I started crying.”
But despite his initial joy, Donald soon discovered he was living a whole different nightmare: he had no money and very few job prospects after decades of life behind bars. “What happens to exonerees like me is you get punished twice for something you didn’t do,” says Donald, now 52. “I am still being punished.”
It’s a reality he is determined to change, with the help of friend Nicky Jackson, an associate criminal-justice professor at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, Indiana. Appalled by his case, Jackson introduced herself to Donald soon after his release. Together they want to make sure other wrongly convicted individuals aren’t forgotten by the system that stole part of their lives. Beginning in 2016 and spanning two years’ time, Jackson met with Indiana state legislators, including Representative Greg Steuerwald, who authored new legislation to compensate exonerees for the years they spent in prison (see box). And in 2020 Jackson launched the Willie T Donald Exoneration Advisory Coalition to connect Donald and others like him with the resources they need to get their lives back on track.
“This is about righting a wrong,” says Jackson, 57, who says she’s in awe of Donald’s “integrity, graciousness and forgiveness”. As for Donald, “It feels good to have somebody by your side through tough times like this,” he says. “She’s my guardian angel.”
Growing up the second youngest of five kids and the only boy in the family, Donald had wanted to become a welder, like his uncle. He wanted to get married, to start a family. “All those dreams were crushed,” he says. “And I missed the passing of my dad and wasn’t able to attend the funeral.” His sister Sheila Hopkins, 59, still cries recalling how she had wanted Donald to walk her down the aisle at her 1996 wedding. “It still hurts,” she says.
In 2006 the Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University took on Donald’s case after all his appeals were exhausted. Their years-long investigation found that Lavelle Thompson, 18, who bore the facial scars witnesses said were prominent on the killer (Donald has no scars), committed the crimes; he was murdered soon after the robberies. It also uncovered a witness had told police in 1992 she wasn’t sure Donald was the robber as he was bigger and taller than the man she saw. But a detective “convinced me I had picked the right guy”, she said in a statement. “After reviewing the case – and the court records support this – Mr Donald didn’t commit this crime,” said Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter. “They just had the wrong person.”
Donald admits he still finds his return to the free world challenging. “Being locked up was a culture shock,” he says. “Being free is another.” Though he earned two college degrees while incarcerated – in biblical studies and business management – he’s had trouble finding jobs and is currently working as a janitor. Like those of other exonerees, his convictions remain on his record until he can pay an attorney to have them expunged. And he says he’s constantly looking over his shoulder, afraid of being wrongly accused again. “When I go to a petrol station or a store, I stand right in front of the [surveillance] camera,” Donald says. “I am scared the police will try to come get me again.”
In 2017 he filed a lawsuit against one of the detectives in his case and the city of Gary. He has until this November to file for compensation from the state, which would total $1.2 million. (If compensated, he must drop the suit.)
Donald and Jackson have continued what she calls “an amazing friendship”, often meeting up for coffee. “When I have a bad day, I talk to him about it,” says Jackson. “He can actually calm me down more so than most people. Our friendship is something I cherish.” For his part, Donald, who lives with his sister Sheila and her husband, is glad Jackson has given him the chance to help others. “I just can’t live my life being bitter,” he says. “I’m appreciative to be free. Life can be snatched away in an instant. Never take it for granted.”