Decorated Navy vet imprisoned 28 years in his wife's death gets $13 million settlement

In 1993, 29-year-old Herman Williams, a decorated Navy veteran who served two tours in the Gulf War, was convicted by a Lake County jury of killing his ex-wife despite maintaining his innocence.

Nearly three decades later, Williams, of Gurnee, was exonerated and released from prison.

On Monday, he was awarded a $13 million settlement through a civil federal lawsuit he brought two years ago.

“Herman’s case was truly a travesty of justice, not only because Herman and his children suffered immeasurably, but because Penny Williams’ murder remains unsolved,” Brian Eldridge, a founding partner of Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge and one of Williams’ attorneys, said in a statement. “While Herman can never get back the years he spent in prison as an innocent man, we hope this settlement will help him close this painful chapter in his life and find peace in the years ahead.”

According to his attorneys, Williams’ conviction was the result of a “fabricated confession, manufactured and concealed evidence, and false testimony by law enforcement, public servants who had abandoned their professional and ethical obligations in order to close the case and advance their careers."

In 1993, Herman and Penny shared two young children, a 6-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. The couple had divorced with Herman Williams having since remarried but “maintained a strong, platonic relationship with Penny and were committed to the well-being of their children,” according to a statement from his attorneys.

At the time, Williams was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base in Lake County.

According to Williams’ attorney, the state’s theory at trial was that Herman murdered Penny on the evening of Sept. 22, 1993, but witnesses refuted this.

The next morning, Williams left their apartment to take his children to school and reported for work at the naval base. Once he returned, Penny Williams was gone. He contacted Gurnee police that night to report her missing but was told more time needed to pass before he could do that.

Two days later, Penny Williams’ purse was found in a trash can in nearby Park City. The Great Lakes Major Crimes Task Force initiated an investigation. On Sept. 26, 1993, Penny Williams’ body was found in a shallow pond near Midlane Country Club in Waukegan.

Herman Williams’ attorneys accused the task force of having “tunnel vision and focused solely on Herman Williams as the suspect in Penny’s murder.”

Herman Williams’ civil lawsuit alleged misconduct by members of the task force, the state’s attorneys office and medical examiner. A sergeant on the case was also accused of “manufacturing” a confession that “Herman never gave,” according to the statement from Williams’ attorneys.

“After his wrongful conviction in 1994, the damages Herman sustained as a result of the defendants’ misconduct are unspeakable. Not only did he lose more than 28 years of his life and suffer in prison as an innocent man, but his two children, who were only six and three years old at the time of Penny’s murder, grew up without either of their parents, and worse, under the mistaken belief that their father murdered their mother,” said Antonio M. Romanucci, one of Williams’ attorneys, in a statement. “Since Herman was exonerated, he has reconciled with his children and is fighting every day to restore his life and his relationships.”

Williams was granted a Certificate of Innocence when he was released from prison.