Crime & Law
Gurnee Man Who Spent Decades in Prison on Wrongful Murder Conviction Awarded $13 Million
(WTTW News)
A Gurnee man who spent nearly three decades behind bars after being convicted of murdering his ex-wife has been awarded a $13 million settlement through a civil lawsuit he brought in 2023.
Attorneys for Herman Williams announced the settlement, after he spent 29 years in prison for the 1993 murder of his ex-wife, Penny Williams. He was previously granted a certificate of innocence last year after his attorneys argued the case against him was the result of “serial misconduct by law enforcement.”
Williams’ attorneys said the case is “truly a travesty of justice,” not only because of his wrongful conviction and imprisonment, but also because Penny’s murder remains unsolved.
“We are pleased to have resolved this case only two years after filing suit, which is very quick compared to other wrongful conviction cases,” Brian Eldridge, a founding partner of Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, said in a statement. “While Herman can never get back the years he spent in prison as an innocent man, we hope this settlement will help him close this painful chapter in his life and find peace in the years ahead.”
According to his attorneys, Williams was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Lake County in 1993, where he maintained a cordial relationship with his ex-wife following their divorce.
Prosecutors alleged Williams killed Penny in the evening hours of Sept. 22, 1993. But Williams maintained he saw Penny alive the following morning when he drove their two children from their apartment to school and to a babysitter.
That afternoon, Penny went missing. Williams called police on Sept. 23 to express his concerns, but according to his attorneys, he was told he needed to wait longer before he could file a missing person’s report, which he ultimately did the following morning.
Williams — who filed a lawsuit in 2023 accusing former police officers, prosecutors and a medical examiner of fabricating and manipulating evidence — claimed the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force had “tunnel vision” and focused solely on him as the suspect.
According to his lawsuit, an assistant state’s attorney and a medical examiner fabricated Penny’s time of death to show she was killed between 8-9 p.m. on Wednesday, and a police sergeant allegedly manufactured a confession that Herman never gave.
Williams maintained his innocence, but was ultimately convicted of his ex-wife’s murder. It wasn’t until 2022 — nearly 30 years later — that he was able to prove his innocence through a forensic re-examination and new testing of DNA evidence, which established his innocence.
“Since Herman was exonerated, he has reconciled with his children and is fighting every day to restore his life and his relationships,” Antonio Romanucci, of the law firm Romanucci & Blandin, said in a statement. “Our legal team is proud to have helped Herman continue to restore his good reputation and his life.”
It was not immediately known how the settlement payment will be divided among the parties.
