Willie Williams served nearly 45 years in prison for a Florida shooting he didn’t commit, lawyers say.

Now, his conviction has been overturned.

Williams was sentenced to life in prison after a 1975 attempted murder and robbery of a Jacksonville produce store, the Innocence Project of Florida said in a release Jan. 3.

“It has been more than 48 years since I was originally arrested for this crime,” Williams said in the release. “I always knew that I was not the shooter but I didn’t have the evidence to properly defend myself.”

Prosecutors at the time relied on a key witness, who identified Williams as the shooter, the IPF said. But Williams’ counsel didn’t know the witness had forgotten Williams’ face and was only able to identify him after being hypnotized, IPF attorneys said.

Williams was released on parole in June 2020 after 44.5 years in prison, according to the IPF.

The State Attorney’s Office began a conviction integrity review in 2021 after Williams said he was wrongfully convicted. During the review, the office learned prosecutors failed to “disclose key evidence that would have undermined the victim’s identification — the only evidence against Williams at his trial,” attorneys with the IPF said.

IPF attorneys Brandon Scheck and Seth Miller took up Williams’ case after this information was discovered.

Other witnesses gave conflicting testimony, but the state relied on the hypnotized witness’s identification, the IPF said.

“The State’s case rested solely on this identification from one of the victims and in closing argument the State indicated to the jury that it should believe this identification because the victim would never forget the shooter’s face,” attorneys said in the release.

Attorneys for Williams argued that had the evidence of the witness’s hypnosis been disclosed, Williams could have been acquitted.

“The State concedes this newly discovered evidence entitles Williams to post-conviction relief,” a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office told McClatchy News in a statement.

The attorneys’ office also said “the Florida Supreme Court ruled that hypnotically refreshed memory was unreliable and consequently inadmissible as evidence of guilt. As a result, the State will not refile the charges from 1975 against Williams.”

In a Jan. 3 hearing, nearly five decades after Williams was convicted, a judge quickly vacated the convictions of robbery and attempted murder, the IPF said.

Williams expressed gratitude for the IPF and the State Attorney’s Office for their work in overturning the convictions.

“I am so thankful that I can finally put this injustice behind me and move on with my life,” Williams said.

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