The days and months that followed would have unexpected and irreversible consequences not only for the victim herself but also for Archie Charles Williams, who was exonerated last week after spending almost four decades in prison for the brutal attack that occurred that morning — a crime Williams did not commit.

His 1983 conviction — based almost solely on the victim’s positive identification of him in a photo lineup — allowed the real rapist to spend the next several years continuing to terrorize women across Baton Rouge.