ONLY WITH TRUTH CAN JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS BE OBTAINED, THEN COMES MARIO’S FREEDOM
Mario Willis is an innocent man serving time in a Michigan prison for the tragic death of a firefighter in 2008.
The city police department worked with the Wayne County prosecutors office to make the horrible result of an accidental fire in a building Mario did not own into a crime, where no crime was committed.
Now, years after what we believe is a wrongful conviction, his legal team has assembled facts in a thorough and compelling investigation demonstrating his innocence.
We strongly believe that what our post-conviction review of the governments case against him shows flawed fact finding, false testimony, suppressed evidence and a bizarre attempt to create video images of a conspiracy that prosecutors and police fabricated to prove a case that had no basis in fact, only speculation.
Please take the time to review the facts. It is our hope and prayer that you will recognize that this prosecution was driven by the anger and remorse that followed the loss of a good man in an accidental fire, but had nothing to do with any act or intent by Mario Willis.
TRUTH will find Fairness, Justice, and Freedom for Mario Willis!
WHAT HAPPENED?
Mario Willis was found guilty in April of 2010 of second-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. Darian Dove, an ex-employee of Mario’s testified, Mario paid him $20 to burn a house located on Detroit’s Eastside for insurance money. Mr. Dove was the prosecutions key and only witness. A first responder died on duty.
Dove initially told Detroit Police the fire was an accident. It wasn’t until Darian Dove faced a 1st-degree murder charge, instructed by detectives, that the blame had to be placed on the right person when Dove implicated Mario.
Dove’s testimony at trial was so contradictory, inconsistent and contrary to the physical evidence to be inherently unreliable. Dove’s false testimony led to Mario’s conviction.
After suppressing video evidence, the lead investigator and prosecutor in the case brought against Mario mislead the jury about Detroit Police and Detroit Fire being told of Mario’s whereabouts the night of the fire.
Post conviction, a forensic review of the physical evidence showed to be consistent with the accidental fire scenario provided to Detroit Police at the beginning of their investigation. The Prosecutors fire expert misled the jury as too where gasoline was found in the property.
Evidence shows there was no Home Owners Insurance Policy on the property at the time of the fire on November 15, 2008. The Prosecutors theory presented at trial that Mario had the property burned for insurance money was false.
The co-defendant, Darian Dove signed a sworn affidavit recanting that Mario had nothing to do with the fire and it was an accident. It is consistent with Dove’s earlier statement and the physical evidence.
Post conviction, a review of the medical records by Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, Forensic/Pathologist Chief Medical Examiner for Oakland County, states that the manner of death in the case brought against Mario should have been classified as an accident, not homicide.
Detroit mother fights for son’s innocence in house fire where firefighter was killeD.
House fire took place on Nov. 15, 2008
It has been over 14 years since the Detroit Fire Department lost one of its shining stars, firefighter Walter Harris. He was killed fighting a fire that a jury determined to be arson. A man named Mario Willis is still in prison for that fire. But it’s a conviction that doesn’t add up to many, including his mother, Maxine.
Please review THE Part I & ii cover story published by the Detroit Metro Times after their 4-month investigation:
How a Detroit firefighter’s death might have sent an innocent man to prison
Fire wall: The case of Mario Willis (part I)
Reported by: Eddie B. Allen, Jr.
Maxine Willis believes her son, Mario Willis, was wrongfully sentenced following the 2008 blaze that killed Detroit firefighter Walter Harris.
In the redemptive setting of Ypsilanti’s Second Baptist Church a well-dressed woman with a pleasant smile greets a man just released from prison. On this sunny September afternoon Ronnell Johnson is free after 14 years, following what the Washtenaw County prosecutor determined to be a wrongful robbery conviction.
The woman co-hosting Johnson’s reception through the Ambassadors Group, a nonprofit support initiative, is Maxine Willis, who hopes the next homecoming will answer a prayer. Her son, Mario Willis, is serving year 12 of a 30-year minimum sentence for the 2008 blaze that killed firefighter Walter Harris.
AFTER A DETROIT FIREFIGHTER DIED ON DUTY, PROSECUTORS LOOKED FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME. DID THEY GET IT ALL WRONG?
Fire wall: The case of Mario Willis (part II)
Reported by: Eddie B. Allen, Jr.
Detroit firefighter Walter Harris was killed in a Nov. 15, 2008 blaze.
Last week, we covered the case of Mario Willis, who supporters say was wrongfully sentenced for up to 30 years behind bars following a 2008 blaze that resulted in the death of a Detroit firefighter. This week, our investigation continues.
It was a fitting title for a man consistently described as upstanding and devoted: “Armor bearer” was not only the role Walter Harris held at Community Christian Fellowship Church; it was his career as a firefighter serving Detroiters.
VIEW HOW DETROIT POLICE WITHHELD AND MANIPULATED EVIDENCE TO SECURE CONVICTION
SUMMARY OF EXPERT FINDINGS AND AFFIDAVITS
Mario didn’t have any experts on behalf of his defense for an independent review of information provided. The trial attorney’s misjudgment in counsel subsequently was detrimental to Mario’s defense. Please see the expert reports obtained after Mario’s conviction below:
FULL REPORTS BELOW
MEDICAL EXAMINER - EXPERT SUMMARY REPORT
Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic:
Chief Pathologist for Oakland County
Read how the Wayne County Medical Examiner provided an incomplete examination report and why it’s opined by Dr. Dragovic that the statutory and professional obligation had not been met in the original investigation of the firefighter’s death.
FORENSIC CHEMIST - EXPERT SUMMARY REPORT
Dirk L. Hedglin, Forensic Chemist:
Forensic Consulting & Analytical, Inc.
Forensic Chemist, who reviewed all materials and wood samples concluded that
the physical evidence of the fire is consistent with the accidental fire scenario
told to Detroit Police by Darian Dove (co-defendant) at the beginning of their
investigation.
Evidence and facts clearly show, Mario’s conviction was a rush to judgement and a grave miscarriage of justice.
TRUTH FACTS AND EVIDENCE MATTER…
SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!
COURT HEARING VIDEOS
View Mario Speaking before the Judge 2018 & 2021
Court Hearing Video 2018
Court Hearing Video 2021
The LORD sets prisoners free;
Psalms 146:7
This high profile case has received extensive media coverage also reporting on the many times this case has been sent back to the trial court.
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