The William Hetherington case is a 1985 rape case in the U.S. state of Michigan in which William Hetherington was controversially convicted of the sexual assault of his wife during a contentious divorce case and custody dispute. Hetherington served over 24 years in custody, which he claims is due partly to exceptional hindrances in appealing the claimed injustices in the sentence. On October 27, 2009, Hetherington was finally granted a parole.
A 1994 article in Insight on the News drew attention to claims that he was either incorrectly found guilty, or grossly over-sentenced, and denied due process of law applicable to his defense.
Background
William and Linda Hetherington married in 1971; the marriage was an unhappy one and between 1978 and 1985 William sought divorce, then the couple reconciled, and finally divorce was sought again.