Eron Shelman was 19 years old when he was arrested for the 1992 murder of Antonio “Tone” Knight in Detroit. Shelman had been driving a car with Knight and two other men when one of the passengers, Andre Rice, suddenly shot Knight. Rice confessed to police and said that Shelman did not know he intended to shoot Knight. However, Shelman and Rice were tried before separate juries, and Shelman’s jury never heard Rice’s confession. No physical evidence connected Shelman to the murder. The prosecution relied on statements attributed to Shelman by witnesses, including his cousin, Montez Bell. Bell testified that police held him for hours, prepared a statement for him, and supplied some of the information it contained. Another witness testified that police threatened her with jail until she provided a statement, which she later said contained false information. A potential defense witness was prevented from testifying before the jury about Bell’s admission that he had testified falsely. Shelman was convicted of first-degree murder in December 1992 and sentenced to life in prison. More than two decades later, he sought a new trial, arguing that his attorney had failed to present Rice’s confession and other evidence supporting his innocence. Rice again stated that he alone had shot Knight without warning and that Shelman had nothing to do with the murder. Additional witnesses provided evidence contradicting Bell, whose testimony had been central to the prosecution’s case. In January 2023, a judge granted Shelman a new trial after finding that the new testimony could likely produce a different verdict. Shelman was released in February 2023 after spending approximately 30 years and two months wrongfully incarcerated. The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the decision granting him a new trial, and the prosecution dismissed the case in January 2025.