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William Hetherington case
The William Hetherington case is a 1985 rape case in the U.S. state of Michigan in which William Hetherington was controversially convicted of the sexual assault of his wife during a contentious divorce case and custody dispute. Hetherington served over 24 years in custody, which he claims is due partly to exceptional hindrances in appealing the claimed injustices in the sentence. On October 27, 2009, Hetherington was finally granted a parole.
A 1994 article in Insight on the News drew attention to claims that he was either incorrectly found guilty, or grossly over-sentenced, and denied due process of law applicable to his defense.
William and Linda Hetherington married in 1971; the marriage was an unhappy one and between 1978 and 1985 William sought divorce, then the couple reconciled, and finally divorce was sought again. During this period, Linda brought, then withdrew, charges of spousal rape more than once, with one such incident described by an article in Insight on the News as "the first of several times that Linda would accuse her husband of raping her, at times when bringing charges was to her advantage".
In May 1985 following Linda's travelling without notice to another state, divorce was filed. It was expected that Hetherington would win custody due to Linda's history of abandonment of the children and family, for a period of more than two months.[citation needed] In August, Linda claimed he had raped her a month earlier and he was imprisoned briefly. Although released shortly afterwards, the timing caused custody to be given to Linda, with the judge commenting that custody would have gone to William had he not been incarcerated at the time of the hearing, but that he could apply later for custody instead.
A month later, after William was released, he applied for custody. A hearing was set for October 7, but before this could take place, Linda again accused him of rape, claiming he had taped and tied her up, threatened that she was about to "meet her maker", abducted her by car, cut her clothing off, and raped her. According to William she invited sexual intercourse at her mother's home where she was staying, then began demanding money she believed he had. After some confusion, according to "several witnesses", Linda's mother insisted charges were pressed.
County prosecutor Robert Weiss was responsible for prosecuting the case. He also reinstated the August case that had been dropped, and a bail bond was set at $500,000. With his assets frozen during the divorce, and his income being disability payments, William was unable to obtain bail, and unable to finance a legal defence. The court considered him to have assets, and no lawyer was provided for him as a result. Linda visited the prosecutor; stories vary at this point as to whether or not she sought charges to be dropped, and whether she was relieved or reluctant they were not.
Eventually William persuaded an attorney, David Wright, to represent him, for a $10,000 fee to be paid from his disability checks.
As trial approached in May 1986, the prosecutor offered a plea bargain, that if he pleaded guilty to a single charge of first degree rape, and a court-appointed psychologist concluded that he was not a danger to his ex-wife, he would receive a delayed sentence of 11 months, or probation with credit for time served. Williams claims the offer was made coercively.
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William Hetherington case
The William Hetherington case is a 1985 rape case in the U.S. state of Michigan in which William Hetherington was controversially convicted of the sexual assault of his wife during a contentious divorce case and custody dispute. Hetherington served over 24 years in custody, which he claims is due partly to exceptional hindrances in appealing the claimed injustices in the sentence. On October 27, 2009, Hetherington was finally granted a parole.
A 1994 article in Insight on the News drew attention to claims that he was either incorrectly found guilty, or grossly over-sentenced, and denied due process of law applicable to his defense.
William and Linda Hetherington married in 1971; the marriage was an unhappy one and between 1978 and 1985 William sought divorce, then the couple reconciled, and finally divorce was sought again. During this period, Linda brought, then withdrew, charges of spousal rape more than once, with one such incident described by an article in Insight on the News as "the first of several times that Linda would accuse her husband of raping her, at times when bringing charges was to her advantage".
In May 1985 following Linda's travelling without notice to another state, divorce was filed. It was expected that Hetherington would win custody due to Linda's history of abandonment of the children and family, for a period of more than two months.[citation needed] In August, Linda claimed he had raped her a month earlier and he was imprisoned briefly. Although released shortly afterwards, the timing caused custody to be given to Linda, with the judge commenting that custody would have gone to William had he not been incarcerated at the time of the hearing, but that he could apply later for custody instead.
A month later, after William was released, he applied for custody. A hearing was set for October 7, but before this could take place, Linda again accused him of rape, claiming he had taped and tied her up, threatened that she was about to "meet her maker", abducted her by car, cut her clothing off, and raped her. According to William she invited sexual intercourse at her mother's home where she was staying, then began demanding money she believed he had. After some confusion, according to "several witnesses", Linda's mother insisted charges were pressed.
County prosecutor Robert Weiss was responsible for prosecuting the case. He also reinstated the August case that had been dropped, and a bail bond was set at $500,000. With his assets frozen during the divorce, and his income being disability payments, William was unable to obtain bail, and unable to finance a legal defence. The court considered him to have assets, and no lawyer was provided for him as a result. Linda visited the prosecutor; stories vary at this point as to whether or not she sought charges to be dropped, and whether she was relieved or reluctant they were not.
Eventually William persuaded an attorney, David Wright, to represent him, for a $10,000 fee to be paid from his disability checks.
As trial approached in May 1986, the prosecutor offered a plea bargain, that if he pleaded guilty to a single charge of first degree rape, and a court-appointed psychologist concluded that he was not a danger to his ex-wife, he would receive a delayed sentence of 11 months, or probation with credit for time served. Williams claims the offer was made coercively.