THIS MAN IS ACCUSED OF DOING INVOLVING A LOT OF FROZEN FISH THAT HASN’T FACING A 15 YEAR
FELONY CHARGE. THAT’S AT SIX. IT
HAS NOW BEEN 14.5 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
AND A MAN NAMED MARIO WILLIS IS
STILL IN PRISON FOR THAT FIRE.
BUT IT’S A CONVICTION THAT
DOESN’T ADD UP TO MANY, AND THAT
CERTAINLY INCLUDES HIS
DETERMINED MOTHER, MAXINE. IF
YOU SAID TO ME, MAXINE, WHAT
WOULD YOU WANT IN THE SUN?
THAT’S MY MARIO. MAXINE WILLIS
LOVES TO TALK ABOUT HER SON.
SMART DYNAMIC, PASSIONATE,
DRIVEN EVERYTHING GOOD, EXCEPT
HIS ADDRESS, WHICH IS CURRENTLY
THE SAGINAW CORRECTIONAL
FACILITY WHEN A PERSON IS
INCARCERATE THE WHOLE FAMILY IS
LOCKED UP. FOR MORE THAN A
DECADE. THIS HAS BEEN MAXINE
SELL THE BASEMENT THAT SHE HAS
TURNED INTO AN EVIDENCE ROOM.
ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE REPORT.
WILLIS IS SERVING A 30 YEAR
SENTENCE FOR SECOND DEGREE
MURDER, CONVICTED OF ARRANGING
AN ARSON THAT KILLED A BELOVED
DETROIT FIREFIGHTER. IT’S BEEN
15 YEARS SINCE THE NIGHT, WALTER
HARRIS LOST HIS LIFE. THE
CENTRAL FIGURE IN THE
INVESTIGATION WAS DARIEN DOVE, A
HANDYMAN, WILLIS OFTEN HIRED THE
NIGHT OF THE FIRE. HE AND A
WOMAN WERE USING AN EMPTY HOUSE
OWNED BY WILLIS FOR A RENDEZVOUS
. DOVE SAID HE STARTED A FIRE
WITH A LITTLE GASOLINE FOR THEM
TO KEEP WARM. BUT HE SAID THE
FIRE GOT TOO CLOSE TO THE GAS
CAN. SUDDENLY THE PLACE WAS
AFLAME, AND HE CALLED 911.
DETROIT FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVED AND
WORKED TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE.
BUT IT TURNED TO DISASTER WHEN
FIREFIGHTER WALTER HARRIS WAS
KILLED AS THE CEILING COLLAPSED
ON HIM WHEN A FIRST RESPONDER IS
LOST. UNDERSTANDABLY THE
INVESTIGATION INTENSIFIES. DOVE
SAYS HE WAS PRESSURED TO CHANGE
HIS STORY TO SAY IT WASN’T AN
ACCIDENT. PROCTOR IS THE
LONGTIME DETROIT REPORTER WHO
NOW WORKS ON INNOCENCE APPEALS.
I THINK IT’S CRIMINAL HERE. THAT
SOMEONE WITH A BADGE, SOMEONE
WITH AUTHORITY CONVINCED SOMEONE
TO LIE EVENTUALLY DUBBED DID
CHANGE HIS STORY AND TOLD POLICE
WILL PAID HIM 20 BUCKS TO BURN
THE PLACE DOWN. THE HOUSE IS
GONE, BUT THIS IS WHERE THAT
FIRE OCCURRED BACK IN 2008, A
COUPLE OF ISSUES HERE FIRST,
DARIEN DOVE WAS THE ONE WHO
CALLED 911. ARSONISTS AREN’T
USUALLY THE ONES WHO CALL THE
FIRE DEPARTMENT. BUT THE BIGGER
ISSUE PERHAPS PROSECUTORS
SUGGESTED TO THE JURY THAT THIS
WAS A CASE OF INSURANCE FRAUD,
BURNING DOWN A HOUSE IN EXCHANGE
FOR THE INSURANCE MONEY. WHAT
WAS EXPLAINED TO THE JURY WAS
THAT MARIO WILLIS DIDN’T HAVE
THIS PROPERTY INSURED AGAINST
FIRE. HE DIDN’T STAND TO MAKE A
DIME. THE JURY WAS ALSO TOLD THE
BURN PATTERN SUGGESTED ARSON.
BUT A LATER FORENSIC STUDY
SUPPORTED THE ACCIDENT THEORY.
WHILE MAXINE AND I SAT AND
TALKED, THE PHONE RANG, IT WAS
MARIO CALLING FROM PRISON.
CLEARLY THERE WAS SOME MISTAKES
IN THE PROSECUTION, BUT THERE
WERE SOME PRETTY GLARING
MISTAKES IN YOUR DEFENSE TOO,
RIGHT? YES, SIR. YES, SIR. UH
YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, MY
TRIAL ATTORNEY, HE FELT LIKE HIS
EXACT WORDS TO ME. YOU KNOW,
MARIO, THIS IS GOING TO BE BE A
FORMALITY AND BEST MARIO KNOWS
IT IS HARDLY UNUSUAL FOR AN
INMATE TO PROCLAIM HIS INNOCENCE
. MY GOD, EVERYBODY’S IN DID SO.
I SAID, OKAY, WE HAVE TO SHOW
THIS EVIDENCE. TALK TO YOU, SIR
. I WILL COMPEL YOU TO LOOK
THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT’S FAIRLY
EASY, THANKS TO MAXINE’S
EXHAUSTIVE WORK IN HER HOME AND
ONLINE, SHE SAYS A LOT OF
SIMILARITIES IN MARIO AND WALTER
HARRIS AND HER HEART BREAKS FOR
HARRIS’S WIFE, SIRI. SHE WAS
QUOTED SANE. THERE’S BEEN
ANYTHING HIDDEN IN THE
WRONGDOING AND THE EAGLES
INVOLVED. IT NEEDS TO COME OUT.
SO WE’RE BOTH LOOKING FOR THE
SAME THING. THE TRUTH. THE JURY
DIDN’T HEAR THE WHOLE THING. THE
JURY NEVER UNDERSTOOD. THAT THIS
WAS AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THEY HAD
SO MANY PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT
TELLING THEM NO, THIS WAS A
CONSPIRACY. THEY LIED. THEY
MANIPULATED THE TRUTH. THEY SENT
TWO INNOCENT MEN TO PRISON. THIS
SHOULD NOT BE INNOCENCE CASES
ALWAYS REQUIRE AN ARMY MAXINE
WILLIS HAS BEEN TIRELESS, AS HAS
BUILT PROCTOR, MARIO’S NEW
ATTORNEY, CRAIG DAILY, AND EDDIE
ALLEN. I SHOULD MENTION OF THE
METRO TIMES WHO’S COVERED THIS
FROM A TO Z. IT IS NOW IN THE
HANDS OF THE WAYNE COUNTY
CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNIT. WE
HAVE CONFIRMED THAT SO MARIO AND
HIS TEAM NOW WAIT SUCH A FORCE
TAKING A LOOK AT THAT BASEMENT
WITH ALL THOSE DOCUMENTS. YES,
YEAH, THAT’S AMAZING FAMILY.
HAVE YOU TALKED TO THEM? I DID.
I TALKED TO HIS SON, ROBERT, HIS
SON, ROBERT, IS NOW AN ATTORNEY
IN IN OUR FOR AND TOLD ME THAT
THE FAMILY HAS BEEN FAIRLY
CONSISTENT ON THIS. WHATEVER
HAPPENED. THEY WANT TO KNOW THE
TRUTH ALSO HAVE TO POINT OUT A
TERRIBLE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE
WILLIS FAMILY. ASIDE FROM THIS
CASE A FEW WEEKS AGO TWO WEEKS
AGO, A WRONG WAY. DRIVER ON I 6
96 KILLED HER SON, MARVIN. MARIO
IS YOUNGER BROTHER. IT’S JUST
TOO MUCH, BUT LIFE HAS REALLY
BEEN A STUDY OF DESPAIR FOR THE
WILLIS FAMILY. BUT YOU YOU CAN’T
NO MATTER HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE FIRE. YOU
CAN’T HELP BUT ADMIRE THE GRACE
AND DOGGEDNESS AND DETERMINATION
OF MAXINE CITY. I’M HOPING THAT