DETROIT, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A Detroit man is free after a judge overturned his 28 convictions in a double murder and arson case from 2005.
Kenneth Nixon was released from prison in Ionia Thursday thanks to the work of the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Innocence Project.
Nixon and his then-girlfriend Latoya Caulfield were arrested for the deaths of a ten-year-old boy and an 18-month-old girl in a firebombing, and Caulfield was acquitted. The information used to convict Nixon was from a 13-year-old boy and an informant in the jail, with both being determined to not be reliable.
“Mr. Nixon has worked tirelessly over the last 15 years to regain his freedom. Thanks to Mr. Nixon’s persistence and the collaboration between the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project and the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit, Mr. Nixon will finally be reunited with his loved ones,” said his attorney, David Williams.
On May 19, 2005, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a home on Charleston street in Detroit, causing the deaths of a 10-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl. The mother and other children, including her 13-year-old son were also in the home and sustained injuries.
Nixon and his then girlfriend, Latoya Caulford, were charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of arson and four counts of attempted murder. Caulford, accused of driving Nixon to the Charleston house, was acquitted after a separate jury trial on Sept. 21, 2005. But Nixon was convicted on all charges.
The main issue at trial was the identification of the person who threw the Molotov cocktail. Nixon always denied his involvement in the crime and presented evidence that he was with Caulford at her home during the time of the fire. Two alibi witnesses were presented to support his defense, but Caulford could not testify due to her own pending charges. The identification of Nixon was based upon statements made by the 13-year-old witness who was at the home at time of the fire, and the testimony of a jailhouse informant who was housed at the same jail as Nixon after his arrest. On Aug. 29, 2005, the informant received special consideration in an unrelated case. On Aug. 30, the informant gave a statement to police incriminating Nixon. At trial, the informant testified that he did not see news reports of the fire. But, in 2018, the informant was interviewed by the Medill Justice Project and the informant admitted that he had seen news coverage of the case before speaking to Nixon.
The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project worked with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit to DNA test the Molotov cocktail used to start the fire. Unfortunately, no DNA results were obtained. However, there was other new evidence that supported Nixon’s innocence and the Cooley team requested the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit to reinvestigate the case. Based on their own investigation and findings, the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit requested a new trial and the dismissal of all charges.
