In 1984, Earl was an innocent man convicted of murder and rape against Rebecca Williams. All the information she could give was her attacker was a black man that was acting alone. Because he admitted to committing the crime; he was the number 1 suspect, although he told a very different story about the incident. He confessed to stabbing his victim 2-3 times, however an autopsy was completed on the woman revealing that she had been stabbed over 30 times. He also stated that he didn't know her address, her height, or even her race. Knowing this information, the court still found him guilty and he was put on death row
Now if you don't know Earl Washington Jr, he was not the brightest of people. Earl was a man with a intellectual disability.