The Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) can be credited with assisting in the release of Wayne Braddy and Karl Willis after both men had served 23 years of their life sentence for a murder they had nothing to do with.

Interest in the case drew public outrage when WTOL began airing their story, Guilty Without Proof, in 2019.

In 2023 Braddy & Willis were faced with a decision:  Either accept responsibility for a lesser crime or remain incarcerated for years while awaiting a new trial and then, face the uncertainty of a 2nd trial that might be tainted like the first.  They chose the ‘Alford Plea,’ known in wrongful conviction circles as the ‘Dark Plea.’ 

In the eyes of the state, Wayne & Karl are still considered felons and therefore bare the stigma that such a moniker carries.  Their right to any type of compensation has been severed by the plea. 

NWOIC has continued to look into their case and may have discovered that exculpatory evidence had been withheld from their attorneys back in 1998 & 1999.  Requests for public records reports are ongoing.