$7M to man wrongfully convicted of Staten Island murder
The city will pay $7 million to settle the wrongful criminal conviction of a man who spent 23 years behind bars for a Staten Island woman’s murder that he long insisted he never committed, the city comptroller announced Monday.
The settlement ends a 25-year ordeal for Grant Williams (photo), now 51, who saw his life dismantled after he was arrested for the April 1996 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Shdell Lewis.
Williams was exonerated in July 2021 when a Richmond County judge vacated his conviction after a review of the case provided evidence he could not have killed Lewis. His long-awaited vindication was the first successful wrongful conviction case brought on Staten Island.
At trial in 1997, the prosecution relied heavily on just one eyewitness and no forensic evidence.
Prosecutors interviewed six of the alibi witnesses, one insisting he and Williams spent the night at Staten Island rappers Wu-Tang Clan’s studio, where Williams once worked.
A second witness confirmed Williams was not at the Stapleton Houses where Lewis was killed, but outside the studio. The eyewitness testimony was ignored by investigators.
Before the jury finally returned its guilty verdict, even panelists were deadlocked.
Williams was released from prison on parole in October 2019 but believed he would one day be absolved.
“I used to tell everyone in prison, ‘I’m innocent,’ ” Williams said outside court after the exoneration last year. “They’d say, ‘Aw Williams, everybody says that.’ I’d say, ‘I’m telling you the truth. One day you’re gonna see me on the news, and you’re gonna see that I was innocent.’ ”
In a statement, city Comptroller Brad Lander said the settlement is in everyone’s best interests.
“Grant Williams spent 23 years in jail for a crime that he did not commit,” Lander said in a statement. “While no amount of money can bring those years back for Mr. Williams or his family, I am pleased that we were able to move quickly to a fair and early resolution of this claim.”