A Portland, Oregon, Black man is finally free from prison after his sentence was wrongfully enhanced based on a crime he did not commit.
Danyale Gill was happy when he was released from prison, the Oregon Innocence Project (OIP) earlier this month. “I’m just glad to be free,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. I’m relieved it’s finally here, and now I want to enjoy it.”
Gill was only an 18-year-old high school student when he was incarcerated after police blamed him for being the gunman in a March 1994 non-fatal shooting, according to an OIP press release. The local police chief was in Northeast Portland “by chance” when the incident occurred. He began following the suspected shooter and lost track of him.
Just a block from where he spotted the suspect, the chief saw Gill and identified him “by his build and clothing rather than his face,” the organization said. When investigators questioned him, Gill said he was in the area because he was with his uncle — who they failed to reach out to — at a nearby residence. The teen requested that they conduct a gun residue test, but they refused.
Per the organization’s statement, he was charged with unlawful use of a firearm, attempted murder, and assault. During his trial, the prosecutor allegedly described him and other men as “young thugs shooting bullets at one another.” Although the shooting victim did not attend the trial, Gill was still convicted by the majority-white jury.
During his sentencing, the victim and other witnesses confirmed that Gill did not commit the crime, according to the OIP. However, the judge sentenced him to three years behind bars. The teen, who had been set to graduate, maintained his innocence throughout the years of his prison term. He was released in 1997.
After leaving prison, Gill lived out of his car and had run-ins with the police. During one incident, he “drove off” at a stop, and officers trailed him, which prompted…
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