Imagine spending twenty-five years, seven months, and some change in a cell for a murder you didn't commit. That's the reality Tommy and Ray Highers lived through. They went in as young men in their early twenties and walked out in their late forties. It’s the kind of story that makes you want to hug your family a little tighter tonight.
Honestly, the way they got out sounds like a movie plot. It wasn't some high-tech DNA test that saved them. It was Facebook. A random post on a "Northeast Detroit Alumni" page back in 2009 sparked a chain reaction that eventually proved their innocence.
Where are Tommy and Ray Highers now?
People always ask about Tommy and Ray Highers now because their story didn't end with the courtroom cheers in 2013. Since their official exoneration, the brothers have been navigating a world that looks nothing like the one they left in 1987.
Ray Highers has stayed relatively local to the Detroit area. By 2016, he was living in a suburban home, engaged to be married, and—in a surprisingly tender twist for a "burly ex-con"—spending his days caring for two small adopted dogs. One of them actually needed insulin shots, and Ray became an expert at administering them. It's a quiet life, but after decades in Michigan’s harshest prisons, quiet is exactly what he wanted.
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Tommy Highers has focused heavily on rebuilding his relationship with his family. He faced a heartbreaking reality upon his release; his daughter Nicole, who wasn't even born when he was first locked up, was murdered in 2005 while he was still behind bars. He never got to meet her as a free man. Today, he’s a grandfather and has been vocal about supporting other exonerees, like Davontae Sanford, helping them navigate the crushing weight of "re-entry" into a society that doesn't always have a place for them.
The struggle for Michigan compensation
You’d think the state would just hand over a check the second they admitted the mistake. It didn't work like that. For years, the Highers brothers were stuck in a legal limbo regarding the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act.
- The Law: Michigan passed a law in 2016 to pay exonerees $50,000 for every year they were wrongly imprisoned.
- The Catch: Because their charges were dismissed "without prejudice" in 2013, there was a technical argument about whether they met the strict definition of "exonerated" under the new law.
- The Outcome: Eventually, the brothers were awarded their compensation. For 25 years of lost life, they were each entitled to roughly $1.25 million.
It sounds like a lot of money. But then you remember they missed the invention of the internet, the rise of cell phones, and the deaths of parents and children. Ray once said in an interview that he'd give every penny back just to have those 26 years of his youth again. You can't buy back your thirties.
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How a Facebook post changed everything
The case against them for the 1987 murder of Robert "Old Man Bob" Karey was always flimsy. It relied on a witness who claimed to see two white guys running from the scene. The Highers brothers were white, and they were in the neighborhood to buy weed, so the police called it a day.
Decades later, a woman named Mary Evans posted on Facebook about the case. A guy named Kevin Zieleniewski saw it. He remembered his old college roommate, John Hielscher, talking about being at "Old Man Bob's" that night.
As it turns out, Hielscher and his friends—who were from Grosse Pointe—were the ones running away. They had been held at gunpoint by a group of African American men who were actually the killers. Because they were "good kids" from a "good neighborhood" buying drugs in Detroit, they were too scared to tell the police back then. When they finally came forward in 2012, the prosecution's case evaporated.
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Rebuilding from scratch in Detroit
The transition wasn't smooth. When they got out, they didn't know how to use a smartphone. They didn't have credit scores. They didn't have resumes.
They spent the first few years living with an aunt and uncle in Roseville. Tommy and Ray have both remained incredibly close, which is rare for co-defendants who were separated by the prison system for over 15 years. They have used their platform to advocate for judicial reform in Wayne County, often appearing at events to remind people that "eyewitness testimony" is one of the most dangerous types of evidence in a courtroom.
Basically, they've turned a tragedy into a mission. They aren't bitter—at least not publicly. They talk a lot about "spiritual battles" and keeping their sanity through faith.
Actionable insights for following wrongful conviction cases:
If you’re following the status of Tommy and Ray Highers now, or similar cases in Michigan, here is how you can stay informed and help:
- Monitor the National Registry of Exonerations: This database provides the most up-to-date legal status for people like the Highers brothers.
- Support the Michigan Innocence Clinic: They are the primary boots-on-the-ground organization working to free the 60+ people in Michigan still claiming wrongful conviction.
- Check Local Court Records: Compensation cases are often filed in the Michigan Court of Claims, which is public record.
- Advocate for Discovery Reform: Many of these cases happen because the police "lose" files or don't turn over evidence. Supporting legislation that mandates electronic evidence tracking can prevent what happened to Tommy and Ray from happening to someone else.
The brothers are now in their late 50s. They are living proof that while the justice system can be incredibly slow, and sometimes flat-out wrong, the truth usually finds a way out—even if it has to come through a Facebook comment section.