(CBS-DETROIT) — A 47-year-old Detroit man was released from prison last week spent more than 22 years behind bars because he was wrongly convicted.
In 2001, LaVone Hill was convicted of fatally shooting two people after a dice game, and just a few months later he was sentenced to life in prison.
“It was one of the most horrible things I could have ever experienced,” Hill said, “like I saw things that I could never take back. So that experience, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, honestly. “
Hill was acquitted last week after it emerged that false witness testimony sent him to prison for that double murder.
“It’s overwhelming. I feel great. I feel great, you know, but I feel a little overwhelmed because I’m being pulled in a million different directions. I have a lot of family that wants to see me [and] friends,” Hill said.
He says the love and support he has felt since his release has been immense, especially from his children.
“I knew my children loved me because I am their father, but I have been gone for 22 years [years]but I never knew how much they love me until I got home and now they’re just showering me,” Hill said.
Now he plans to use every day in prison to help others who have been in similar situations as him and his families.
“Start like this organization, where I could not only give back to children of incarcerated parents, but I could also create some kind of system for the hundreds of guys in there who have been wrongfully convicted and wrongfully incarcerated.”
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says she will not retry Hill in the case.
