Ramon Ward was 18 years old when he was arrested for the 1994 murders of Sharon Cornell and Joan Gilliam in an abandoned Detroit building. The investigation initially focused on Ward after his cousin gave police a statement claiming Ward had admitted to the killings. His cousin later recanted, testifying that he had falsely implicated Ward after police threatened to charge him with the murders. The prosecution also relied on two jailhouse informants who claimed Ward confessed while detained at the Detroit police station. Ward denied making those statements, and no weapon or physical evidence connected him to the crime. A detective testified that Ward had also confessed during questioning, but Ward refused to sign the statement and maintained that it had been fabricated. Ward was convicted in January 1995 of felony murder, second-degree murder, and a firearm offense. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Later proceedings revealed troubling information about the use of jailhouse informants in Detroit. Witnesses testified that informants received privileges or favorable treatment for cooperating and were sometimes supplied with case details. One of the informants used against Ward had reportedly testified for the prosecution in as many as 20 murder trials. In 2019, Ward’s attorney asked the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit to review the case after a witness who was present during the crime came forward and confirmed that Ward was not involved. Following its investigation, the unit concluded that his convictions could not stand. The court vacated Ward’s convictions and dismissed all charges in February 2020. He was freed after spending nearly 26 years wrongfully incarcerated, more than half of his life. (National Registry of Exonerations)