Wayne Braddy, Jr. and Karl Willis have been in prison in Ohio for over 22 years for a crime they did not commit.
At the ages of 21 and 20, Wayne Braddy Jr. and Karl Willis were convicted of the 1998 murder of Maurice Purifie, a 13-year old boy. Wayne and Karl are serving life sentences for a crime they have steadfastly maintained they did not commit.
There is no physical evidence connecting them to this crime. The conviction was based solely on the testimony of Travis Slaughter who recanted his trial testimony against them in 2002, wrote letters to Karl and Wayne seeking their forgiveness for his false testimony, and told another inmate that a serious medical diagnosis was God’s punishment for his lies.
New evidence in the form of a declaration from Travis denying his own involvement is supported by the interrogation tapes that show Travis denied any knowledge of the crime 25 times before being coerced into a false confession that implicated not only himself but also Wayne and Karl.
Other aspects of the case and trial point to a gross miscarriage of justice: there was information suggesting other suspects, jury members made false assumptions based on information they were instructed by the judge not to consider which led to the guilty verdict, there were no Black members of the jury, and the public defense provided to Wayne and Karl was woefully inadequate including failing to present their alibi evidence. The trial prosecutor has admitted that Travis is a liar and there is no case without his testimony.
(The above info is provided from the website: https://freewayneandkarl.com/ )
Please help spread the word about their story of innocence.
Categories: INNOCENCE, Karl Willis, Wayne Braddy
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