photo courtesy of NYTimes
Wrongfully convicted Thomas Raynard James was exonerated after 30 years in prison by new lawyer Natlie Figgers on September 7.
Figgers, only 32, previously worked as a business and personal injury attorney and took on James’ case because no one else would take it on without charge. Seeing a need and filling it, Figgers acted as a criminal defense lawyer after she was approached by friends of James advocating for his release. Figgers worked for almost a year and a half, even when she gave birth to her son. NBC News reported that she logged over 2,000 hours of work on the case all by herself before she brought it to the Conviction Review Unit.
The Unit specialized in reversing and identifying wrongful convictions from the Florida Justice System. She successfully highlighted the lack of physical evidence and alternative theories and proved that James could not be found guilty of his crimes without a reasonable doubt.
“In brief, what appears to be a chance coincidence that the defendant, Thomas Raynard James, had the same name as a suspect named by witnesses and anonymous tipsters as ‘Thomas James,’ or ‘Tommy James’” led to his “mistaken identification” as the gunman who fatally shot Francis McKinnon” Prosecutors explained after seeing the evidence Figgers brought up again, requesting for the conviction to be reversed.
“He was always hopeful that one day someone would see the truth and the facts and come to his defense,” Figgers said. “As of today, he’s grateful that people listened to his cries, and he’s just grateful to have the opportunity to live his life.”
The crime that resulted in innocent man James being sentenced to life in prison occurred in Miami. Two gunmen entered an apartment on January 17, 1990, intending to commit a robbery but ended up shooting the homeowner Francis McKinnon and killing him. Witnesses testified in the original trial that the gunman was named Tommy James or something of the like, leading to Thomas Raynard James being identified falsely in a photo lineup. James was only 23 and was convicted of both first-degree murder and armed robbery only a year later.