The prosecution's case against Adams relied on the identification testimony of a witness who knew Adams, who supposedly saw the crime being committed. Her story would eventually be recanted and then adopted again. Some of her testimony conflicted with known facts of the case. Additionally, the state provided forensic testimony that the men could not be excluded as sources of semen recovered from the female victim. Otherwise, a witness said that he had seen Adams, Rainge, and Williams in the area the night of the crime.

Adams's appeals were denied, but Williams and Rainge won new trials and were convicted again based on both the eyewitness testimony and the perjured testimony that had convicted Jimerson.

With the help of David Protess, Rob Warden, and a team of journalism students from Northwestern University, the four men gained access to the evidence for DNA testing. They also discovered that the police had been tipped to the identity of the actual perpetrators, but did not pursue the lead. Eventually, DNA testing exonerated all four men and implicated three other men, two of whom confessed and pleaded guilty to the crimes in 1997.

The prosecution's star witness later recanted her story, saying she made it up because she felt pressured and threatened by the police. The Ford Heights Four settled civil claims for $36 million against the police officers involved in the original investigation. Governor Jim Edgar granted pardons to all four men, who were released from prison in 1996.