Duane Williams was convicted in connection with a 2012 Detroit house fire that killed Bobby Cross and Darryl Simms. Investigators initially classified the fire’s cause as undetermined, and both deaths were considered accidental. The case later shifted to a homicide investigation after a witness claimed that Williams had confessed and authorities concluded that the fire was intentionally set. Williams was convicted of murder and arson in 2013 and sentenced to life without parole. Years later, his attorneys discovered that important evidence had not been provided to the defense. This included photographs and an unaltered investigative report showing that a lighter was found near the couch where the fire began. Additional evidence raised questions about the credibility of the prosecution’s principal witness and the reliability of the original fire analysis. Following a joint review by Williams’s attorneys and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit, his convictions were vacated in June 2024. The charges were dismissed in October 2024 after he had spent approximately 10 years and nine months imprisoned under the wrongful conviction.