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Man at the center of prominent case alleging wrongful conviction, Kalvin Michael Smith, found dead

88.5 WFDD - Public Radio For The Piedmont | By Emily McCord
Published September 15, 2023 at 3:06 PM EDT
Kalvin Michael Smith was at the center of a controversial case in connection to a 1995 assault in Winston-Salem that shined a light on issues around racial bias in the justice system. Smith maintained his innocence. He was found dead on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. PAUL GARBER/WFDD (File)

Kalvin Michael Smith was at the center of a controversial case in connection to a 1995 assault in Winston-Salem that shined a light on issues around racial bias in the justice system. Smith maintained his innocence. He was found dead on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. PAUL GARBER/WFDD (File)

A man who claimed innocence in connection with a 1995 brutal assault in Winston-Salem has died. Kalvin Michael Smith was at the center of a racially divisive case that was one of the region’s most prominent allegations of wrongful conviction. 

Winston-Salem police report that the body of Kalvin Michael Smith was found in a car Wednesday. They say they don’t have reason to believe there was foul play. Police confirmed the death at a news conference today/Friday.

A jury convicted Smith in 1997 in connection with an assault at the Silk Plant Forest store in Winston-Salem. The attack left the victim, Jill Marker, severely brain-damaged. He was sentenced to almost 29 years in prison. A judge granted a shortened stay in 2016. Smith maintained his innocence.

Winston-Salem police say that the investigation into Smith’s death is ongoing and will release a cause of death after toxicology reports are completed.  

He was 52 years old.
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Law Enforcement Kalvin Michael Smith
Emily McCord
Emily joined WFDD in 2014. It's a homecoming after 11 years working in public radio for stations in colder climates. She graduated from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in 2003, where she earned her degree in music. She moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where she saw an advertisement on the side of a bus for the local station, WFIU, and began volunteering. That turned into a full time gig, where Emily did everything from producing fund drives, co-hosting a classical music quiz show, and handling station relations. In 2007, Emily accepted a position at WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as the host of All Things Considered. It was there that Emily learned how to be a reporter. Her stories won state and national awards and were regularly featured on NPR. Emily became News Director at WYSO in 2011.Now, she's back in North Carolina and happily leading the news team at WFDD. She lives in Winston-Salem with her husband and two children.
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