My friend Paul Stuckle says “our prisons are full of innocent persons,†and stories like this make me believe it. From Reuters:
“HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) – A man jailed for 18 years for a rape he did not commit was paid $5 million in compensation by the state of Connecticut.
“James Tillman, now 45, was arrested in 1988 and sentenced to 45 years in prison a year later. He was exonerated in 2006 and released after a DNA test proved his innocence.
“‘No amount of money we give Mr. Tillman will erase this miscarriage of justice,’ Connecticut House of Representatives Speaker James Amann, a Democrat, said before lawmakers voted unanimously late on Wednesday to give him $5 million.
“‘We can, however, contribute to his healing, and help Mr. Tillman move on with his life,’ Amann said.
“The case had racial overtones. The victim, who is white, identified Tillman, who is black, from a police line-up. Police never caught the real rapist.
“Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell, a Republican, has publicly apologized to Tillman on behalf of the state but previously offered him a much smaller $500,000 payment. She said she supports the legislature’s $5 million figure.
“In exchange for the settlement, Tillman agreed not to sue the state and police for other claims, including medical malpractice due to a botched prison surgery that permanently damaged his right leg.”
Read the full article here. Chalk another good deed up to the Innocence Project, who worked on his case and helped exonerate him.
|


