Wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years, Dell Crawford, of Detroit, was freed after his second-degree murder conviction was overturned.
The conviction was overturned with the help of the Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project in partnership with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit.
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On Tuesday, March 24, Wayne County Circuit vacated Crawford’s second-degree murder conviction and sentence, and dismissed the charge without prejudice.
What happened?
The incident occurred on Sept. 10, 2007, when Crawford went to the home of Tatanisha “Joy” Williams in Detroit after not being able to get in touch with her and discovered her body inside her home.
Crawford had to get help from a friend to enter Williams’ home, as there was a key broken off in the lock.
Upon entering the home, the two men discovered Williams’ body along with two of her children.
Crawford called 911 and took the children to their grandmother’s house.
Wayne County Medical Examiner’s conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of death to be brain injuries from being struck in the head.
They also noted the presence of defensive wounds on the fingers of both of her hands.
DNA testing at the time of trial did not detect the presence of man’s DNA under the victim’s fingernails.
Crawford’s conviction was based on testimony from an unreliable witness whose account changed multiple times during the investigation and prosecution.
During Crawford’s trial, the jury acquitted him of first-degree murder but convicted him of second-degree murder.
The court sentenced him to 20 years and 10 months to 45 years in prison.
The Cooley Innocence Project, in collaboration with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit, obtained DNA testing of evidence collected during the original investigation.
In October 2024, the victim’s fingernails were submitted for DNA testing at a private laboratory, where they were processed for male DNA.
A mixture of at least two men was found under the victim’s fingernails.
The laboratory excluded Crawford as a contributor to the major male DNA profile.