Wrongfully Convicted Black Man Exonerated After Serving 32 Years Behind Bars

On Wednesday, Thomas Raynard James was released from prison after serving 32 years mover a case of mistaken identity.

James, 55, was convicted in 1991 and sentenced to life in prison—with a 25-year minimum. He was found guilty of the murder of Francis McKinnon, who was killed during a home invasion in Coral Gables, FL in 1990.

James was 23 years old at the time. But what is puzzling is that he was convicted, although there was no physical evidence that could prove he was guilty.

His conviction and life sentence were brought on by people who picked his photo out of a lineup and an eyewitness account from Dorothy Walton, the stepdaughter of McKinnon. 

“I will never forget his face. I will never forget his eyes,” Walton had previously stated in a 1991 article in the Miami Herald. 

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Justice Project spent the last year reviewing more than 20,000 pages worth of documents and even interviewed people connected with James’ case after Walton changed her stance when she spoke during a 2019 interview with investigators for the Innocence Project of Florida, saying there may have made a mistake in identifying James.

Court documents from the case show one of the two witnesses who picked James in the lineup later testified that the suspect they picked was not in the court despite James sitting across from them.

James also delivered a sworn statement to the SAO Justice Project earlier this year, in which he claims he has never shot anyone or been to the apartment complex where the murder took place.

He also took a polygraph exam that determined he was telling the truth about if he was in the apartment when the victim was shot if he was the one who shot McKinnon, and if he was involved at all in the crime. 

“We have determined that Thomas Raynard James is actually innocent,” Assistant State Attorney Christine Zahralban told the court. Charles McKinnon, son of the victim, also spoke, saying he wasn’t entirely convinced of these latest findings and couldn’t support the court’s decision, adding, “Mr. James, I don’t want to see you in jail if you’re innocent.” 

James’ release is the result of 10 motions and appeals that fought to get his sentence overturned. When he was asked what will be the first thing he does as a free man, James said, “Go enjoy my family and eat chicken!”