Willie grimes
Alleged Crime(s)
Willie Grimes was arrested in 1987 for the October 24, 1987 rape and kidnapping of 69 year-old Carrie Lee Elliott. Elliott described her attacker as a tall black man with a mole on his face which she had scratched during the attack. As he fled, the man took fruit from a bowl in Elliott's kitchen. After speaking with Elliott about the assault, her neighbor Linda McDowell called police to report Willie Grimes as a man who matched the police description of Elliott’s attacker and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Arrest & Trial On October 27, after learning of the warrant, Grimes turned himself into police and was arrested. His trial began a year later in 1988. Grimes provided an alibi; several friends said that they were with Grimes all night during the time that the rape occurred. Additionally his girlfriend of the time, Betty Shuford, testified that he slept at her home the night of the rape and that he did not have any scratches on his body or on the mole on his face. Four character witnesses testified that Grimes was a calm, nonviolent man. During the trial, the victim initially identified Grimes's attorney as her attacker before identifying Grimes. Hairs collected from the crime scene were identified as those of an African-American male but no DNA test was done to confirm a genetic match. The jury deliberated for an hour and a half and convicted Willie Grimes of 2 counts of first degree rape and one count of second degree kidnapping. Grimes was sentenced to life in prison for rape plus nine years for kidnapping. Post-Conviction & Exoneration In 2003 the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence began work on Grimes's case. Though Grimes had requested all physical evidence be preserved for future appeals, attempts to locate and test biological evidence failed until the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission compelled the Hickory Police Department to locate all surviving files. Among the evidence was a fingerprint discovered on fruit left outside of Elliott's door. Testing revealed that the print belonged to the original suspect in the case, a man named Albert Turner who had a long history of misdemeanors and violence against women. The Center on Actual Innocence used this and additional evidence to petition for Grimes’ release. The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission reviewed the case and agreed that there was enough evidence to reverse Grimes’s conviction. In May of 2012 he was released on parole having served 24 years in prison. Grimes was exonerated in October of 2012 when his convictions were vacated by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. It took the three-judge panel less than 30 minutes to determine Grimes's innocence. He is now working for a utility company and says that he is not angry at the people responsible for his wrongful conviction. Written by Catherine LaChapelle |
Location: Catawba County, North Carolina
Crime: Rape and Kidnapping Victim(s): Carrie Lee Elliott Date of Crime: 1992 Date of Conviction: 1988 Date of Exoneration: 2012 Sentence: Life +9 years Race: Black Gender: Male Age at Arrest: 24 Contributing Factors: Mistaken witness ID, False or Misleading Forensic Evidence DNA Exoneration: No |