USA - Texas. U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas order Nanon Williams' release from prison.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas order Nanon Williams' release from prison. Williams, 38, black, was sentenced to death row in Harris County on September 22, 1995 for the May 14, 1992 murder of Adonius Collier, 19, allegedly committed 1992 at the age of 17. In May 2001, a Harris County judge overturned Williams' conviction and recommended that Williams receive a new trial due to false evidence and false testimony from the state and that he had been denied his right to effective assistance of counsel. But, in April 2002, the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the lower court's recommendation in a 3-paragraph opinion that provided no explanation for its decision. On March 29, 2005, Williams' death sentence was vacated as a result of Roper vs. Simmons (the U.S. Supreme Court sentence that outlawed the execution of juveniles), and commuted to life in prison on June 22, 2005. Through a series of evidential hearings (both state and federal), it has become clear that there was no evidence tying him to the crime. Now, the state of Texas has 30 days to appeal this ruling by Judge Atlas. To appeal, they would have to go to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.