Herman Williams granted Certificate of Innocence by Lake County, Illinois Judge

June 18, 2024

COI follows exoneration for wrongful conviction for 1993 murder of his former wife

CHICAGO (June 18, 2024) – Today’s Certificate of Innocence (COI) for Herman Williams is a validating milestone in his fight for justice following his wrongful conviction and decades in prison for the 1993 murder of his former wife. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, and Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, LLC together share the news that a Lake County, Illinois judge granted Mr. Williams’ petition for a Certificate of Innocence. This is not only an important step in his long road to rebuild his life, but has profound meaning to Herman, who has regrettably had to live as a convicted felon for more than 30 years.

Herman’s wrongful conviction was the result of a fabricated confession, manufactured and concealed evidence, and false testimony by law enforcement, public servants who had abandoned their professional and ethical obligations to falsely acquire this conviction to advance their careers. Herman spent nearly 29 years incarcerated and proved his innocence in 2022 through forensic re-examination and new DNA testing, as well as a demonstration of serial misconduct by law enforcement officials involved in his case.

Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci and others, together with Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge Founding Partners Brian Eldridge and Steven Hart, and Partners Carter Grant and John Marrese represent the plaintiff. The legal team issued the following statement:

“Herman Williams lost nearly three decades of his life behind bars because of fabricated evidence and coerced statements and he will never get that time back. One of his primary desires during all those years was to officially clear his name, which is what the Certificate of Innocence today accomplishes. All wrongful convictions are tragic and the harm to the victims is immeasurable. As Herman explains, serving time is hard for anyone, but serving time as an innocent man is utter torture. The cost of the wrongful conviction to this decorated member of the U.S. Navy has been staggering, we are pleased he has received his Certificate of Innocence, and we are committed to fighting for justice to him in the civil courts.”

A civil lawsuit was filed August 23, 2023, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

The plaintiff is Herman Williams. The defendants are:

LUCIAN (LOU) TESSMANN, individually and as an agent of the City of Waukegan, Illinois, and Lake County, Illinois;
CHARLES FAGAN, individually and as an agent of Lake County, Illinois;
KIMBERLY GAROFALO, as Independent Administrator of the ESTATE OF GREGORY GAROFALO, deceased;
DENNIS PENSALA, individually and as an agent of Lake County, Illinois;
CHARLES BELL, individually and as an agent of the Village of Libertyville, Illinois, and Lake County, Illinois;
RICHARD DAVIES, individually and as an agent of Lake County, Illinois;
ROBERT RANDALL, individually and as an agent of Lake County, Illinois;
LEONARD BREZINSKI, individually and as an agent of Lake County, Illinois;
DANIEL COLIN, individually and as an agent of Lake County, Illinois;
KAREN JONES, as Independent Administrator of the ESTATE OF NANCY JONES, deceased; -MICHAEL WALLER, in his official capacity as former State’s Attorney of Lake County, Illinois;
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, a municipal corporation;
LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE
LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
CITY OF WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS, a municipal corporation;
VILLAGE OF GURNEE, ILLINOIS, a municipal corporation;
VILLAGE OF LIBERTYVILLE, ILLINOIS, a municipal corporation;
VILLAGE OF VERNON HILLS, a municipal corporation;
COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, a municipal corporation.

Case Background

Herman Williams and his former wife Penny Williams shared two young children in 1993, 6-year-old Charlie and 3-year-old Crystal. Herman, at age 29, was a decorated member of the U.S. Navy who had served two tours in the Gulf War and was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Lake County, Illinois. He and Penny had a platonic and strong relationship, despite their divorce and were committed to the well-being of their children. Herman remarried his second wife, Kitty, yet his relationship with Penny remained cordial and collaborative.
The State’s false accusation at trial was that Herman murdered Penny on the evening of Wednesday, September 22, 1993, likely sometime between 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. This was false.
Specifically, on Wednesday evening, Herman and Penny left around 7:45 p.m. and went shopping while their neighbor watched their children. Herman and Penny returned to their neighbor’s later that evening, picked up the children, and returned to their apartment. Witnesses confirmed these facts.
The following morning, Penny was still alive and well when Herman left their apartment at about 6:45 a.m. to shuttle the children to school and babysitters before reporting to work at the Naval base. When Herman returned from the Naval base that afternoon, Penny was gone. When Penny had not returned after several hours, Herman called the Gurnee Police that night to express his concern and report her missing but was told he needed to wait until more time had passed before he file a missing person’s report.
On Friday morning, as Herman reported Penny missing, her purse was turned into the Naval base after being found in the trash at a Park City, Illinois, car wash. An investigation was initiated, with the Great Lakes Major Crime Task Force (the “Task Force”) leading the investigation. Two days later, on Sunday, September 26, 1993, Penny’s body was found in a shallow pond near Midlane Country Club in Waukegan, Illinois.
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force had tunnel vision and focused solely on Herman Williams as the suspect in Penny’s murder. As alleged in Herman’s civil lawsuit, the misconduct of members of the Task Force and medical examiner Nancy Jones caused Herman’s wrongful conviction. Among other bad acts, Sgt. Lou Tessmann manufactured a confession that Herman never gave.
Finally, ASA Mermel and medical examiner Nancy Jones fabricated a time-of-death opinion that Penny Williams was killed between 8-9 p.m. Wednesday evening. All the while, both Mermel and Jones concealed the opinion Dr. Jones had previously given, which was that the death could have occurred much later into Thursday and Friday when Herman’s whereabouts were extensively corroborated. On re-examination of the forensic evidence years later, experts for both the State and Herman would demonstrate that Jones’ revised opinion was scientifically unsupportable.
Despite his insistence that he was innocent, Herman was convicted of Penny’s murder on the strength of the fabricated and concealed evidence above.
Years later, Herman was able to demonstrate his innocence in several ways. First, it was learned that Sgt. Tessman repeatedly fabricated confessions in other cases. To date, his behavior has resulted in three exonerations in addition to Herman Williams, causing the State’s Attorney’s Office to concede in 2022 that Tessmann had a pattern of fabricating evidence.
Further, ASA Michael Mermel was forced to resign from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office in 2011 due to behavior unbecoming of a law enforcement officer.
Finally, after nearly 29 years in prison, forensic re-examination and new testing of DNA evidence established Herman’s innocence. The Lake County State’s Attorney agreed to vacate his conviction in September 2022, acknowledging the serial misconduct by Lake County, Illinois, law enforcement as well as the falsity of the junk science used against Herman at trial. Although a step in the right direction, his exoneration can never give back the decades he spent in prison, nor the opportunity to raise his two children, who grew up with a wrongfully incarcerated father and the belief that he had murdered their mother.

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death. For more than 25 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars and others record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors differentiate our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We are different from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. We are often inspired by our clients’ experiences and commit resources to create change in our communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 626-7614.

About Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge

Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, LLC (“HME”) is a firm of trial lawyers specializing in civil rights, mass tort, and class action cases. The attorneys at HME practice on a nationwide basis in both federal and state courts and are actively involved in some of the largest and most significant cases in the country. HME attorneys are invested in the fight for justice and consistently take on cases to advance civil justice and equal rights. HME prides itself on winning complex cases, fiercely advocating for its clients, and being a driving force behind civil and social change in Chicago and throughout the country. HME’s civil rights practice includes cases involving wrongful convictions, wrongful shootings, police brutality, and unconstitutional policing. HME has also successfully challenged police policies through civil rights and class action cases in both Illinois and elsewhere. For more information about Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, please visit www.hmelegal.com or call (312) 955-0545.