62-Year-Old Man Shot Dead After Getting Released From Death Row At Funeral

A 62-year-old man who was initially charged with six murders but was later on acquitted is dead less than two years after he was exonerated.

The man was identified as Christopher Williams who spent nearly three decades behind bars, including 25 years on Death Row in Pennsylvania.

The father of six was being held for six murders at the time. Two of those charges were acquitted while four were thrown out due to evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. He was released from state prison in February 2021.

"Never in the history of the Pennsylvania judicial system has someone been charged with six murders, acquitted of two and now exonerated of four," Williams said after his release.

Williams was driving in a funeral procession for another formerly incarcerated man identified as Thyree Little in North Philadelphia on the afternoon of Dec. 16 when he was shot dead, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The outlet added that the 62-year-old was shot in the head after he stepped out of the car at Mount Peace Cemetery at around 2:20: p.m. on that Friday.

Police managed to rush Williams to the Temple University Hospital. However, the 62-year-old man was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.

Following the killing of Williams, other men who have been exonerated are now worried about their safety, aware that they need to be more vigilant from here on.

Williams' co-defendant, Theophalis Wilson rues the fact that even if they were innocent, no one is buying it.

"Although we’re actually innocent, not everyone believes it,” Wilson stated. "I spent 28 years in jail for knowing him. I have to be on guard."

Before his death, Williams worked as a carpenter, working in construction and trying to reconnect with his family.

Also, the 62-year-old would return to prison on occasion to help others he believed had been wrongfully convicted. His sister added that Williams had planned to set up a program helping other exonerated men reintegrate into society.