Chartier

& Nyamfukudza, P.L.C.

For Immediate Release

September 30, 2020
Three Pages

Contact: Mary Chartier, Chartier & Nyamfukudza, P.L.C.

517.885.3305
mary@cndefenders.com

Contact: Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller

WCPO Director of Communications
313-224-5817 Office
313-213-0457 Mobile
mmiller@waynecounty.com

After 26 years in prison, Lacino Hamilton—Wrongfully

Convicted and Imprisoned for Murder—is Free

After 26 years of being wrongfully imprisoned, Lacino Hamilton is now a free man.
Hamilton was arrested in 1994 and convicted in 1995 for the murder of a woman in
Detroit.

Hamilton’s release is the result of the work of numerous dedicated people from the
law firm of Chartier & Nyamfukudza, P.L.C., the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office
Conviction Integrity Unit, and the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School
Innocence Project.

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Hamilton never gave up hope, and he never gave up fighting to prove his innocence.
The path to his freedom began with the tireless work of his legal team at Chartier &
Nyamfukudza. They worked pro bono for six years to release him. The C&N team
was
led by attorneys Mary Chartier and Takura Nyamfukudza. Every step of the way,
they worked in conjunction with private investigator Claudia Whitman, who
donated countless hours of her time. Whitman’s passion for justice led to numerous
breakthroughs over the years as new evidence was amassed that Hamilton had
been wrongfully charged, convicted, and imprisoned.

Hamilton had been convicted based on the word of a “jailhouse snitch,” who claimed
that Hamilton confessed to him. As the investigation unfolded, evidence indicated
the falsity of the snitch’s claim. He made these claims against Hamilton—and
numerous others—to obtain leniency for his own criminal conduct.

Mary Chartier, one of Mr. Hamilton’s lead attorneys, stated, “We made the decision
long ago to never give up fighting for Mr. Hamilton’s release. While we are beyond
thrilled that all charges have been dismissed, he lost 26 years of his life waiting for
this day. And, even sadder, is that Mr. Hamilton’s case is not unique. Many of the
thousands of men and women who are wrongfully imprisoned have been convicted
based on ‘snitch’ testimony. In Mr. Hamilton’s case, the ‘snitch’ claimed in
numerous cases that men—men who were strangers—had spontaneously confessed
murder to him. Police knew this yet continued to claim that he was reliable and use
him as a witness. This is just one of the travesties that occurred in Mr. Hamilton’s
case. If we truly want to stop innocent men and women from being convicted and
imprisoned, then we have to reform our criminal prosecution system now. There are
ways to do it. Michigan just needs to act.”

While Chartier & Nyamfukudza began working on the case six years ago, Hamilton
would not be free today if not for the efforts of the team at the Wayne County
Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit. The CIU was instituted in 2018 by
prosecutor Kym Worthy and is led by Valerie Newman. In Hamilton’s case,
Newman and her team took evidence provided by Chartier & Nyamfukudza and
dug in deep, investigating the case from start to finish finding significant new
evidence along the way.to support the dismissal of his case.

Not only was the “snitch” testimony against Hamilton found to be false, but DNA
evidence further supported the dismissal. In the original 1995 trial, the DNA
evidence was never disclosed and, therefore, never tested. Wayne County
Prosecutor Kym Worthy said, “The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction
Integrity Unit found potential DNA evidence that had not been previously tested
during its investigation. The defendant was excluded from some of that DNA that
had not previously been tested. In addition to that, and perhaps even more
alarming, is the woefully improper use of informants in this case by the Detroit

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Police Department. The use of informants can be a very valuable tool in fighting
crime and seeking justice, but in this case it was used and abused horribly.”

Once the CIU found the DNA evidence, the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project got
involved and provided critical support for Hamilton’s release through funding the
DNA testing, as well as guidance involving the testing process. The WMU-Cooley
Innocence Project is led by Marla Mitchell-Cichon and provided DNA expert
assistance through Lori Montgomery. “WMU-Cooley’s Innocence Project has almost
20 years-experience in post-conviction DNA testing,” stated Director Marla
Mitchell-Cichon. “The grant funding allows us to be a resource to innocent prisoners
and their lawyers. We are proud to partner with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s
Office Conviction Integrity Unit and support the Chartier & Nyamfukudza law firm
in Mr. Hamilton’s case."

Expert analysis of the 2020 results was also provided by Dr. Gregory Hampikian,
Director of the Forensic Justice Project at Boise State University and Co-Director of
the Idaho Innocence Project. His knowledge provided even more evidence that
Hamilton had been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.

Takura Nyamfukudza, Hamilton’s other lead attorney, summed up Hamilton’s

release. “Nelson Mandela said that difficulties break some men but make others.
President Mandela and Lacino both had significant portions of their lives marred by
manifest injustice. Still, they did not fixate on the time that they lost or give up
hope. I am elated to be switching—finally—from being Lacino’s legal advocate to
just being his friend. Indeed, 2020 was in desperate need of some great news. Here
it is!”

Hamilton intends to spend his life advocating for social justice issues. He also plans
to go paragliding with the C&N team in Colorado in 2021—a plan that was made
years ago and now can finally become a reality.

Hamilton and members of his legal team will discuss his case in detail on the
October 14, 2020 episode of the podcast Constitutional Defenders. It can be found on
Itunes, www.cndefenders.com, and other major podcast platforms.

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