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.