Julius Evans doesn't give up easily.

In 2000, a Chicago jury convicted Evans of first-degree murder in the 1996 drive-by shooting death of Moatice Williams. Although the one witness who identified Evans as the shooter had recanted on the stand at trial, Evans faced a sentence of natural life in prison. By 2014, he had exhausted his appellate options in the Illinois state courts, making his only hope was a long-shot petition to federal court.