CHICAGO · SHOTSPOTTER · CRIMINAL CASE

Michael Williams spent 11 months in jail while ShotSpotter evidence helped support a murder case that prosecutors ultimately dropped.

11 months jailed → case dismissed for insufficient evidence

WHERE

Chicago · Cook County · IL

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Michael Williams, a 65-year-old Chicago man, was charged with murder after Safarian Herring was fatally shot while riding in Williams' vehicle. An Associated Press investigation found that ShotSpotter evidence became an important part of the prosecution's theory about where the shot originated. Williams maintained that another vehicle pulled alongside his car and someone inside it fired the shot.

Williams spent 11 months in Cook County Jail. Prosecutors later asked the court to dismiss the case for insufficient evidence. Reporting on the case also highlighted an important limitation: ShotSpotter said its system was not intended to reliably determine gunshots fired inside enclosed spaces such as vehicles, even though a forensic report concerning the incident had been prepared.

Why it matters: There is a major difference between a sensor generating an investigative lead and that output acquiring evidentiary weight in a criminal case. The consequences arrive long before a defendant gets a final trial verdict.

Sources: Associated Press investigation · WBEZ / AP reporting · WTTW on subsequent litigation

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