Dad-of-six who spent 25 years wrongly locked up on Death Row is shot dead at funeral 22 months after he was exonerated

 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 – A father-of-six has been shot dead at a funeral less than two years after being exonerated and released from Death Row.

Christopher Williams, 62, spent nearly 30 years behind bars, including 25 years on Death Row in Pennsylvania, US.

He was being held for four murders but was released from state prison in February 2021.

Williams was initially convicted of six murders. He was previously acquitted of two and his final murder charge was thrown out due to evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.

When released, he said: “Never in the history of the Pennsylvania judicial system has someone been charged with six murders, acquitted of two and now exonerated of four.”

Sadly, on Friday afternoon, Dec 16, Williams was shot dead while driving in a funeral procession for Tyree Little, another formerly incarcerated man, in North Philadelphia.

He was reportedly shot once in the head after stepping out of his car at Mount Peace Cemetery at around 2.20pm.

Police rushed him to the nearby Temple University Hospital. He was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes later.

Other exonerated men in the region have long expressed concerns for their safety and say they need to be vigilant following Williams’ murder.

Theophalis Wilson, Williams’ co-defendant in a triple murder case who has also been freed, told The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Although we’re actually innocent, not everyone believes it.

“I spent 28 years in jail for knowing him. I have to be on guard.”