Two brothers who spent 25 years in prison for a killing they insist they didn’t commit walked out of a Detroit courthouse as free men on Thursday, with the help of Facebook.
Circuit Judge Lawrence Talon formally dismissed the murder charges against Raymond and Thomas Highers a day after Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced she didn’t plan to retry the men for the 1987 slaying of 65-year-old Robert Karey.
The brothers were convicted by a judge in 1988 of fatally shooting Karey at his home near City Airport.
Talon threw out the brothers’ first-degree murder convictions in 2012 after a Facebook post prompted new witnesses to come forward, reported the Detroit Free Press.
Two of the new witnesses said they saw Karey being shot by two black men at the back door of his house. The Highers are white.
One of witnesses, John Hielscher, said he was scared to say anything at the time and that two decades passed before he learned that the Highers had been convicted.
The Facebook connection began when Washington lawyer Kevin Zieleniewski was on the social networking site looking to connect with old friends in the Detroit are and saw a post about the Highers being in prison for life.
When he learned that it was for allegedly killing Karey--known as Old Man Bob to teens who bought marijuana from him--Zieleniewski remembered that a man he'd been rooming with while attending the University of Detroit Law School told him a story about hearing a gunshot while at Karey’s house the night Karey was killed.
Heilscher--the roommate--was at a nearby party and had gone to the house that night in 1987 to buy marijuana from Karey. He said he saw four or five black men approach the house. One of them pointed a gun at him and his friend and told them to get out of there.
Zieleniewski convinced Heilscher to come forward and tell his story.
The brothers lawyer, Valerie Newman, called the brothers on Wednesday to tell them of the dropped charges, ending a situation where they worried they might go back to prison just a year after being released.
The brothers and the dozen or so family and friends in attendance abided by a request from Newman on Thursday not to “hoot and holler” in the courtroom.
“There'll be lots and lots of time to celebrate,” she told them.
Celebrate they did, once they poured out of the building.
Thomas Highers, 48, walked down the courthouse steps and gave his uncle a bear hug while cheers rang out.
“I’m just elated,” Thomas Highers told the Detroit Free Press. “It means a fresh start for me. It means freedom for me to do the things I want to do, to visit family in other states. I have no felony conviction on my record.”
Raymond Highers, 47, said he was looking forward to a nice dinner at home with his loved ones. He said he plans to travel to Kentucky to honor his late father’s wish of having his ashes spread in that state.
Judge Talon ordered a new trial last year after the new witnesses came forward and let them out on bond after new witness testimony suggested they may have been misidentified in the slaying. Since getting out of prison, both brothers have found jobs, their attorney Gabi Silver said.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy appealed the ruling, but lost. The case had been scheduled for trial early next month, but Worthy decided against going forward.
Worthy said in a press release that she believes the brothers are still guilty but with the passage of time the case couldn’t be put back together.
In requesting that the case be dismissed, assistant prosecutor Michael Reynolds told Talon on Thursday that some witnesses have died and others’ memories have faded. Plus, he said, some physical evidence has not been located.
Talon accepted the explanation and dismissed the charges without prejudice, which means prosecutors could decide to charge the brothers again someday.
“I wish them good luck with their lives,” the judge said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
