The key witness in Miller’s trial — the only substantial evidence linking him to the killing of a man in a parking lot outside 30th Street Station in 1996 — had insisted for two decades that his initial statement to police was a lie.

…The key witness in Miller’s trial — the only substantial evidence linking him to the killing of a man in a parking lot outside 30th Street Station in 1996 — had insisted for two decades that his initial statement to police was a lie.

The witness, David Williams, who faced robbery charges when he spoke to investigators, recanted his statement at Miller’s preliminary hearing in 1997 and denied it again at trial a year later. A jury had voted to convict Miller anyway.

Then, in 2002, Williams did something even more unusual: He wrote a letter to Miller’s mother, apologizing for his false assertion that had helped secure her son a life sentence — and confessing that he was the one who had pulled the trigger, saying he had acted in self-defense.

‘Surreal’ feeling for Philly man cleared of murder after spending half his life behind bars

Wild!