Litigation

CITY OF CHICAGO PAYS $2.7 MILLION FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION

By Mark P. Loftus, Esq.

A Chicago man will receive a $2.7 million settlement from the City of Chicago after being wrongfullly imprisoned for 27 years. In 1977, Paul Terry and Michael Evans[then both only 17] were prosecuted for the abduction, rape and murder of 9 year old child. They were both released in 2003 after DNA testing showed that the rape had been committed by someone else. They were then pardoned by former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Evans sued the City and elected to go to trial with his case. The jury rejected his request for $60 million dollars.

The City of Chicago Finance Committee recently signed off on the $2.7 million dollar payout to Terry[pictured below] whose mental capacity had diminished while he was in prison. The only piece of evidence linking Terry to the crime was an identification by a female witness. Lawyers for Terry claimed that Area 2 detectives manipulated the witness and other evidence to secure the convictions.

Corporation Counsel Mara Georges admitted that the witness didn't identify Terry until 10 months after the crime. In addition, Georges acknowledged that "...her mental capacity is declining a bit as she advances in age, so were weren't sure what kind of witness she would make."

Full post as published by Illinois Lawyer Blog on March 24, 2009 (boomark / email).