Law360 published an article about a pro bono victory Milbank secured prevailing on behalf of client John Francis Wille to vacate his sentence to death after serving 30 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit, while the firm continues to fight his exoneration.
After nearly a decade of work on the case, a team of attorneys led by partner Tawfiq Rangwala secured a recent appellate court decision finding that John Francis Wille’s death sentence was properly vacated for a life sentence, a decision the Louisiana Supreme Court declined to review Nov. 13, allowing the incarcerated man’s attorneys to continue their efforts to prove his innocence.
In the article, Mr. Rangwala noted: “We’re very pleased that the Louisiana Supreme Court has recognized that it was appropriate and proper for Mr. Wille’s death sentence to be vacated and we’re gratified that his life is no longer in jeopardy.”
He added that the case is among the “most outrageous and unbelievable stories of ineffective assistance of counsel, really in American jurisprudence. There is no direct evidence linking John Wille to this crime and plenty of exculpatory evidence that could have established that he didn't commit the crime that was never introduced at his trial.”
The Milbank team was led by Mr. Rangwala with associates Kate Rhodes Janofsky, John Yarwood, Brett Lowe, Caitlin Danis, Rita Ganguli, Emily Glaser, Samantha Palladino, Andrew Porter, Kingdar Prussien, Tom Quinn, and Erik Wilson. The law firm’s co-counsel include attorneys Denise LeBoeuf and Nicholas J. Trenticosta.
“The team looks forward to continuing its pro bono representation of Wille and continuing to make its case for his exoneration,” Mr. Rangwala said, adding that “the work is made possible by a strong value placed on pro bono at his law firm.”
“Milbank has a longstanding tradition of pro bono being at the heart and soul of the law firm,” he said. “We’re very proud of our commitment to pro bono work and to meaningful representations that we think have the possibility of seeing justice done where it might not otherwise be done.”
Read: Law360 – Milbank Team Defeats Death Sentence in Murder Case
