Montgomery, Alabama – A bombshell revelation regarding the 1989 conviction of Walter McMillian is shaking the foundations of the legal system in Montgomery County. Newly surfaced documentation, previously withheld from the public record, suggests that Mr. McMillian’s confession, the cornerstone of his initial conviction for the murder of Jimmy Lee Howell, was obtained under significant duress and may not accurately reflect the events of that night.

The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request spearheaded by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), detail a previously undisclosed account from Deputy Sheriff Charles Granston, who was present during Mr. McMillian’s interrogation at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office on October 22, 1989. Granston’s statement, dated November 14, 1989, describes a prolonged and intense interrogation session where he repeatedly pressured Mr. McMillian, threatening to have him charged with the murder of Brenda Rawls, a woman whose body was later discovered near the scene of Howell’s death.

“We just kept hammering him,” Granston’s statement reads. “We told him if he didn’t tell us what happened, we’d charge him with her murder too. He was exhausted, scared, and just wanted it to be over. He kept saying he didn’t do it, but we weren’t letting him go.” The documents also include testimony from another deputy, Sergeant Gary Brewer, corroborating the intensity of the pressure applied during the interrogation.

The revelation has immediately reignited calls for a retrial for Mr. McMillian, who was released on parole in 2018 after spending nearly three decades behind bars. Bryan Stevenson, lead attorney for EJI, stated, “This documentation fundamentally alters our understanding of the events surrounding Mr. McMillian’s conviction. It raises serious questions about the voluntariness of his confession and the integrity of the investigation.”

Local resident, Mary Johnson, who lived near the Howell crime scene, added, “I always thought something felt off about the whole thing. The way they kept bringing up that other woman… it just seemed like they were trying to make him say what they wanted to hear.”

The District Attorney’s office in Montgomery County has acknowledged receiving the documents and confirmed they are conducting a review of the case. No immediate action has been taken, but legal experts predict the discovery could lead to a renewed legal battle and potentially a reversal of the original conviction. The implications for the McMillian case, and for the broader history of racial injustice within the Alabama legal system, are profound.