US victim wrongly locked up for years vindicated as identity thief pleads guilty

William Woods was sent to a mental institution because Matthew Keirans - who faces 32 years in prison - stole his name for decades

William Woods was homeless and living in Los Angeles when he learned that someone was racking up debt using his name.

But when he reported his concerns to the branch manager of a bank, he wound up spending nearly two years locked up, accused of identity theft himself. As he continued to insist he was Woods in a desperate effort to clear his name, he was even sent to a state mental hospital and drugged, court records show.