On Friday, January 31, in a “beige-walled courtroom” in Iowa, a long, twisted legal saga finally came to an end. Mr. William Woods, a homeless man once wrongly accused, was finally cleared of all charges and freed from jail. Meanwhile, Matthew Keirans—the man who had stolen Woods’ identity years ago—was sentenced to twelve years in prison for impersonation, fraud, manipulating the justice system, and depriving an innocent man of his freedom.
More than five years ago, Mr. Woods stood in a courtroom in Los Angeles, facing charges for allegedly impersonating someone he was not. That person? Mr. Woods himself. On the other side of the courtroom stood Mr. Matthew Keirans, who the public knew of as “Mr. William Woods.”Despite appealing his case and pleading his innocence at every stage of the legal process, the real Mr. Woods was denied justice at every turn.
A 56-year-old man, Woods had spent most of his life on the streets, bouncing between New Mexico and California as a hot dog vendor, struggling to get by. Known to many as soft-spoken and kind, he was nonetheless labeled “incompetent” and diagnosed with a “mental disorder” after his courtroom outbursts, which included erratic statements about the 9/11 attacks and occasional interruptions of the judge. That ruling landed him in a psychiatric hospital for nearly five months. Even after his release, judges dismissed his appeals, convinced he was delusional, according to the The New York Times.
Keirans, on the other hand, lived comfortably in Iowa as a well-respected technology administrator at the University of Iowa’s hospital. Married and raising a son under Woods’ stolen name, he had built an entire life on an identity that wasn’t his. Though the exact details of how he assumed Woods’ identity remain fuzzy, court records reveal that the two briefly interacted in the late 1980s, when they were both homeless and working as hot dog vendors. Woods believes Keirans stole his wallet and began using his name, as reported by The New York Times. His motive was clear: to escape the criminal record of his past—including car theft and running away as a teenager—and start fresh.
In 1990, Keirans used Woods’ name to obtain identification documents, pay taxes, secure insurance, register vehicles, open bank accounts, and integrate himself into every facet of daily life imaginable. After using Ancestry.com to find out Woods’ origin, he obtained a legal birth certificate from Kentucky under Woods’ name, which he later used in court to get Woods arrested.
After his release, Woods tirelessly sought the truth, reaching out to federal law enforcement agencies in hopes of reopening the case. Most dismissed him outright, unwilling to entertain his claim–until Detective Ian Mallory of the University of Iowa took notice. Unlike previous investigators, Mallory turned to DNA testing, comparing Woods’ genetic profile to that of his known father. The results were undeniable. Confronted with the evidence, Keirans faltered and later confessed.
Now, after years of injustice, Woods is finally reclaiming the life he lost. Though his story has drawn national attention, with hundreds of journalists seeking interviews, he remains humble, selling hot dogs on the streets of Los Angeles. But this time, he has his name back. With financial compensation beginning to trickle in, he has managed to secure an apartment of his own. And on January 31, he stood in court–not as the accused, but as a free man–watching as the man who stole his life was brought to justice.
