WATCH: Archie Williams, “America’s Got Talent” Contestant who Delivered Incredible Performance, says he is Determined to Celebrate the ‘Fullness of Freedom’ After Spending 36 Years in Jail for a Wrongful Rape and Attempted Murder Conviction

Archie Williams, 59, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shared his heart-wrenching story on Tuesday night’s episode of the competition series. The singer explained that he was just 22 years old when he was wrongfully convicted of the rape and attempted murder of a white woman. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or probation in 1983. The Innocence Project, which works to free the wrongfully convicted, began working on Williams’ case in the 1990s, but he was only freed last year. After wowing the AGT judges with his performance of Elton John’s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,’ he told Today’s Natalie Morales he is focused on the future. Williams said he wants ‘to make up all the lost years’ and ‘do a career in singing’ with his nieces and nephews.