Why was Grant Williams in prison? Case explored as NYC set to pay $7M to Wu-Tang Clan studio worker wrongfully convicted in 1996 killing

Grant Williams, a studio worker for the Platinum Award-winning American Hip Hop Group The Wu-Tang Clan, has won $7M against New York City after spending 23 years in prison for a murder he was falsely accused of.

On since 2019, Grant Williams was deemed innocent in July 2021 for the 1996 shooting of Shdell Lewis near a Staten Island public housing complex. According to The Hill, following his exoneration 51-year-old, Williams began his efforts to sue New York City, filing a notice claim that accused state authorities of misconduct and civil rights violations.

Even though no confession was made, it was partially Grant Williams' connection to the iconic hip hop group that sealed his fate, as the shooter's Wu-Tang Clan baseball cap was found at the scene. Because Williams worked in the hip hop groups studio and maintained close ties with its members, this piece of evidence, coupled with eye-witness testimonies, sealed his fate.

New York City Comptroller, Brad Lander, is the primary authority that settles claims made against the city. Complex reported that the comptroller's office decided to settle the case out of court, with Lander and William's attorney, Irving Cohen, agreeing that this was the moral decision.

On 23 May, Brad Landers announced that Grant Williams would receive $7 million from the city.

In his official statement, he said:

“While no amount of money can bring those years back for Mr. Williams or his family, I am pleased that were able to move to a fair and early resolution of this claim.”

Cohen mirrored this statement. He said:

“This will assist him in going forward and trying to get back on his feet,” and finally putting the ordeal behind him."

How did Grant Williams become a suspect?

According to the New York Times, in April 1996, Shdell Lewis was walking outside his home in Staten Island when a gunman shot him several times in a Wu-Tang Clan hat. He was taken to hospital but died soon after.

Within just 4 hours, Grant Williams was identified as the shooter. In 1997 he was sentenced to life in prison. According to the official NYC comptroller office, Williams had always claimed he was innocent despite his conviction, having made efforts to appeal the verdict through courts over several years.

After his conviction was overturned in 2019, as per CBS, he told reporters:

“I used to tell everybody in prison I’m innocent. They say, ‘Oh Williams, everybody says that.’ I said, ‘I’m telling you the truth. One day you’re going to see me on the news and they’re going to say that I was innocent’ Today’s that day.”

In 2017, the State saw it fit to carry out a re-investigation, having found new evidence that suggested Williams may have been wrongfully convicted. The New York Times reported that the court decided that the initial investigation was based on insubstantial evidence.

In the original 1996 trial, ABC News reported that eye-witness testimonies primarily bolstered Grant Williams' conviction. One came from a police officer who had pursued the gunman at the scene. However, the officer's first description did not match Williams's, though he later adjusted it before the first trial.

Prosecutors also used the Wu-Tang Clan baseball cap to connect Grant Williams and the murderer. Despite this, it was never tested for DNA, and there was no significant forensic evidence that framed Williams as the shooter. The implication primarily relied on Williams' occupation and friendship with group members.

Williams and several online supporters support Williams' claim that this is a civil rights issue, accusing the authorities of targeting him due to his race.

The Re-Trial and Exoneration of Grant Williams

NME reported that the following scrutiny into the case by Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, several new witnesses were given a chance to provide witness testimonies at the second trial, ultimately absolving Grant Williams.

One of the witnesses, a friend of Lewis who was present at the shooting, testified that he had told the police that Williams had not perpetrated the murder. In a different testimony, a witness provided an alibi that was ignored in the initial investigation, testifying that he had been with Williams in a different location when the shooting took place.

With regards to the decision, McMahon said:

“Given the overwhelming amount of exculpatory evidence presented for the first time in this review, as well as a totality of the investigative circumstances in this case […] we now believe Mr Williams to actually be innocent and conclude our justice system failed him."

Williams celebrates the new verdict

As Landers' decision was announced, Williams surrounded himself with family and friends, including hip hop star and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghost Face Killa.

In an interview with Staten Island Advance, he said,

‘[the decision] felt like a ton of bricks being lifted.’

He continued,

“I missed him. When he left, part of me left.”

While Grant Williams found success in challenging the State, his case is not an isolated one. The LA Times published that according to a 2019 annual report by the National Registry of Exonerations, Wrongful Convictions and Statistics, between 2% and 10% of convictions may be unjust.

According to organizations such as the Sentencing Project, many of the victims of these wrongful convictions are minorities from the black and Latino communities, which is possibly why they are overrepresented in the American prison system.

CBS New York reported that while he was fighting for his freedom in prison, Williams completed an Associate's degree and is now working on his Bachelor's. He hopes to help other prisoners who have been wrongfully convicted.