The performance of Archie Charles Williams – a prisoner wrongly convicted for 37 years – attracted the attention of the judges and audience in the first episode of America’s Got Talent 2020.
On May 22, the organizers of America’s Got Talent posted the special performance of contestant Archie Charles Williams on social networks. Although the first episode of America’s Got Talent in 2020 has not yet aired, judge Simon Cowell still shared this contestant’s performance of the song Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me with the caption: “This is Archie William. I will not forget this performance for the rest of my life and will not be able to enjoy this song like before.”
According to Mirror, the contestant born in 1960 shared a tearful story about his life and his passion for singing that prompted him to participate in America’s Got Talent. Accordingly, Archie Charles Williams has just spent 37 years in prison for being accused of raping and murdering a woman in 1982 in Louisiana. At the time of the incident, although the police did not find Archie Charles Williams’ fingerprints or evidence of crime at the scene, he was still sentenced to 80 years in prison. “I was unjustly imprisoned for 37 years. DNA set me free. I did not kill anyone but I also did not have enough finances to pursue the case. Days turned into years, years into decades. It was a nightmare “Even though my body is in prison, my mind is still free. When you fall into a dark quagmire, the only way to find peace is to pray and sing,” he said.
Thanks to good rehabilitation, active petitioning and help from the Innocence Project New Orleans organization campaigning to overturn Williams’ case, the police applied new fingerprint technology and identified the real killer. a serial killer. On stage, the former prisoner moved many audiences when sharing that America’s Got Talent was a program that he regularly watched through prison bars and that singing in front of four judges was a dream come true. reality: “I watched America’s Got Talent while in prison and always imagined myself standing on stage to perform. Now I’m actually here. Thank God.”
Not only Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara were also deeply touched by Archie Charles Williams’ sincerity. “I think the judges and more than 3,500 spectators will agree to let Williams go to the next round. This is an unforgettable performance. From today, this song has a new meaning and story,” Simon Cowell wrote on Twitter. Under the difficult judge’s post, many people also expressed their support for Archie Charles Williams and hoped that a new, better life would come to this former prisoner.
