A man jailed for 31 years for a crime he did not commit has won $1 million compensation.<\/p>\n
The Tennessee Board of Claims unanimously voted to compensate Lawrence McKinney, 61, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Imprisoned in 1978 for rape and burglary, Mr McKinney was freed in 2009 and formally exonerated in December.<\/p>\n
His compensation award is the maximum the state can grant him, after providing just $75 on his initial release.<\/p>\n
It is the highest amount Tennessee has ever granted.<\/p>\n
“We thank the governor, and we thank the board,” said David Raybin, a lawyer for Mr McKinney.<\/p>\n
“Highest amount ever paid, but then again, no one was ever incarcerated for this long.”<\/p>\n
In October 1977, Mr McKinney was arrested in Memphis after a woman claimed he was one of two men who raped her in her apartment.<\/p>\n
He was charged with rape and first degree burglary, and following his conviction in June 1978 he was sentenced to 115 years in prison.<\/p>\n
He was 22 years old.<\/p>\n
Thirty years later, in August 2008, a DNA test of the victim’s bedding identified three people, none of whom were Mr McKinney.<\/p>\n
His conviction was vacated (or set aside) and he was released in July 2009.<\/p>\n
Mr McKinney says he was in prison for 31 years, 9 months, 18 days, and 12 hours.<\/p>\n
On his initial release,\u00a0Mr McKinney reportedly received just $75<\/a>\u00a0after three decades behind bars.<\/p>\n “Because I had no ID it took me three months before I was able to cash it,” McKinney told CNN.<\/p>\n After he was freed, Mr McKinney sought a full exoneration – in other words formally declared not guilty.<\/p>\n But in 2016, a parole board unanimously voted against him.<\/p>\n One board member defended their decision not to exonerate him<\/a>, writing in a local newspaper, “The victim’s descriptions to police matched McKinney’s description, to a tee.”<\/p>\n However, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam went against the parole board’s verdict and unilaterally exonerated him in December 2017.<\/p>\n The exoneration meant Mr McKinney could apply for compensation. His lawyers, David Raybin and Jack Lowery, decided to push for the maximum allowed sum, $1m.<\/p>\n “A person is deprived of their life and freedom,” Mr Raybin said at the time of the filing. “In my view Mr McKinney is entitled to far more than $1m based on what’s happened to him.”<\/p>\n Mr McKinney will not receive the amount as a lump sum.<\/p>\n He will received $353,000 upfront to pay his lawyers and his debts, but the rest of the amount will be spread out in monthly payments of $3,350 over a minimum of ten years.<\/p>\n The money will go to his wife or his estate if he dies in that time.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"