"Archie's story is one of courage and hope - and I hope that by knowing more about his story and the Innocence Project, it will encourage more people to support the incredible work they do. However, he maintained his innocence throughout the trial and his time in prison. A practice the National Registry of Exonerations said was, years later, \"condemned as suggestive.\"The woman also later identified a separate man as the attacker. We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences.
Now changing his hobbies into talent, Archie has started appearing on the stage and has started to make a name for himself. Archie Williams (born in 1960/61) is an american singer who recently appeared in America’s Got Talent. Archie Williams, now 59 years old, spent 37 years in prison for something he didn’t do, and as it turns out, America’s Got Talent played a little part in how he kept his head up in jail all of those years. "I can picture you watching the show, hoping, hoping, holding on to something. These guys don't just talk; they actually do something about it," he said in a statement. ® & © 2020 CBS Studios Inc. © 2020 CBS Television Distribution and CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. What happened to Archie is tragic. "I hope that by knowing about his story and the Innocence Project, it will encourage more people to support the incredible work they do," he wrote in the tweet. Williams' appearance on the NBC reality competition series comes just over a year after he was exonerated and freed from prison after serving over 36 years for a crime he didn't commit.
Eventually, the Innocence Project took his case and DNA evidence finally exonerated Williams. That was very powerful.\" \"Thirty-seven years I can't imagine they took a life away from you, but if there's anything that can be given to you...it's the love that you are getting,\" comedian Howie Mandel described. So, I hope some good will come from this.". "They wanted somebody to pay.". His story has reached millions and brought many of them to tears. Speaking with NPR, Williams said it was the first place he'd been able to explore that talent, and finding music, despite his circumstances, "Was like a new birth there.
I was arrested on January 4. What happened to Archie is tragic. By signing up, you agree to our Update: 5/26/20 6:35 p.m. EST-This story has been updated to include the current America's Got Talent trailer. He was convicted for rape and attempted murder and sent to Angola, which is the nickname for Louisiana State Penitentiary, at the young age of 22. He was Jailed for more than 36 years, he was the centre in rape and attempted murder case in December 9, 1982. You really, really do.".
After sharing his story with the \"AGT\" judges and audience, Williams performed a heart-wrenching rendition of Elton John's \"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.\" It was a performance that brought judge Heidi Klum to tears and led to a standing ovation from the audience. Archie Williams with his attorney Vanessa Potkin (left) and aunt Saundra Christmas at the 19th Judicial District Court of East Baton Rouge, La., this March, after forensic evidence cleared his name. After she recovered in the hospital police, police showed the woman several photo lineups to try and identify a suspect. The man proceeded to violently rape the woman and stab her multiple times. ", This is Archie Williams. Williams was sentenced to life without parole when he was 22 years old in 1983, and the Innocence Project began trying to get access to fingerprint evidence in an FBI database. It wasn’t until Commissioner Kina Kimble took the bench in 2018 that they were able to help Williams. The story that had been an integral part of Williams' life until this point started on December 9, 1982. ", "Freedom is of the mind," Williams told AGT host Terry Crews. I'm honored to become an Ambassador for the @innocence Project and want to do what I can to help more people like Archie. When it came time to take the stage and sing his heart out on the America's Got Talent stage, Williams turned to a classic Elton John tune, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," which took on a new level of gravitas and importance given his own backstory. Archie Williams' heart-wrenching performance is an audition that Simon Cowell said he would never forget for the rest of his life. Williams is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.On April 21, 1983, he was convicted in a case of rape and attempted murder four months earlier. On Tuesday, May 26, … “On the morning of December 9 of 1982, a 30-year-old white woman was raped and stabbed in her home. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, 'America's Got Talent': Inspirational Homeless Choir Earns Golden Buzzer From Tearful Terry Crews, 'America's Got Talent': Archie Williams, a Wrongly Incarcerated Singer, Wows Judges With Tearful Performance, 'America's Got Talent' Reopens Auditions Online, By signing up, you agree to our The soulful singer wowed the judges, audience and viewers during Tuesday's season 15 premiere with his impressive vocal talent and his triumph over injustice. Simon Cowell attends the "America's Got Talent" Season 15 Kickoff at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on March 4, in Pasadena, California. But being a poor black kid, I didn't have the ability to fight the state of Louisiana," Williams said in a segment on AGT.
The prints were matched to a serial rapist, and his conviction was overturned. In 1983, at the age of 22, Williams was convicted of aggravated rape and attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And within eight hours, those prints were matched to a serial assailant, and Archie’s innocence was proven.” So after all those decades sitting in prison, it just took one working day to free Williams, which is pretty galling. On Tuesday, America's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell tweeted that contestant Archie Williams' story about being of falsely imprisoned made him emotional. The victim did not at first identify Williams, but was repeatedly shown his picture and eventually named Williams as the man who'd attacked her. Why Did He Want to Compete in a Talent Competition? Williams also formed a band in prison, and after he was released, he performed Stevie Wonder’s “As” at the iconic Amateur Night competition at New York’s Apollo Theater in November 2019, per the New York Times. I knew I was innocent,\" Williams explained during his \"AGT\" segment. But being a poor black kid, I didn’t have the economic ability to fight the state of Louisiana. Three people testified that I was at home, but they wanted somebody to pay. For them to have stuck with Archie's case for over 20 years is remarkable. "I watched America's Got Talent while in prison, and I would visualize myself being there," Williams said. Per NPR, Archie Williams’ case was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit based on a false ID. At the trial, none of the fingerprints at the scene matched mine. America's Got Talent released William's segment from Tuesday's show on YouTube several days before the premiere, and the video has racked up over 2.2 million views in a matter of days. "I watched America's Got Talent in prison, and I would visualize myself being there. "People accepting me and my gift and knowing that I can touch people.". I hope that by knowing about his story and the Innocence Project, it will encourage more people to support the incredible work they do pic.twitter.com/zmstF7buw2, Cowell explained the significance of Williams' story and hoped that it would draw attention to the work that the Innocence Project does. And now you're here, and we love you. He is committed to advancing the work of the Innocence Project and the cause of criminal justice reform writ large. While Archie’s voice is extraordinary, unfortunately his experience of being sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit is much more common than most people realize.".
The crime was committed in December 1982 in Louisiana, and soon after, Williams was arrested and prosecuted, despite the fact that physical evidence, namely fingerprints, did not match his own, and there were witnesses who testified that he was at his own home the night of the attack. Thank God.". Archie Williams: Wrongfully convicted man who spent 37 years in prison now starring on America's Got Talent ‘I always desired to be on a stage like this, and now I’m here’
He will be a compelling Ambassador for our work," Scheck said in a statement. "I went to prison but I never let my mind go to prison.". ET is breaking down everything you need to know about the performer. While we have come a long way in allowing convicted people access to evidence for DNA testing, we have a long way to go when non-DNA evidence of innocence is at issue. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In his audition clip, which Simon Cowell shared on his Twitter account in May 2020 ahead of the upcoming season, Williams told his story before going into a moving rendition of Elton John’s “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.”. He was in prison for the crime he didn’t committed. On March 21, 2019, Williams left prison a free man once again. To continue reading login or create an account. "He was just walking down the street one day when the police snatched him up, and ended up putting his photograph in a photo array that was viewed by a woman who had been attacked in her home," Williams' attorney, Vanessa Potkin, told NPR last November. Cowell explained the significance of Williams' story and hoped that it would draw attention to the work that the Innocence Project does.
And I'll never listen to this song in the same way ever again.
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