Current:Home > InvestMaryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder, agrees to $340K payment for years in prison-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Maryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder, agrees to $340K payment for years in prison
View Date:2024-12-24 00:34:17
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A man wrongly convicted of two separate violent crimes will be compensated by the state of Maryland after spending years behind bars, including over a year after he had been proven innocent.
A Maryland board approved more than $340,000 for a settlement on Wednesday in compensation for Demetrius Smith who was wrongly convicted of murder and first-degree assault and spent more than five years in prison.
Gov. Wes Moore, who chairs the three-member Board of Public Works, apologized to Smith before the board approved the settlement, noting that it’s been more than a decade since his release in 2013.
“We’re here today more than 10 years after he was released from incarceration, providing Mr. Smith with long overdue justice that he was deprived of, an apology from the state of Maryland that until today he’s never received,” Moore told Smith, who attended the hearing in person.
Smith was 25 in 2008 when he was wrongfully charged with murder.
Gov. Moore noted that at Smith’s bail hearing, the judge said the case before him was “probably the thinnest case” he had ever seen. But, Moore said, “the prosecution was determined to press forward, relying on testimony from a witness who was later found to have not even been at the scene of the crime.”
Less than two months after his arrest, while on bail, Smith was arrested and taken into custody for first-degree assault. Once again, the prosecution relied on witnesses who later recanted their testimony, the governor said.
In 2010, Smith was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, plus 18 years. In 2011, he entered an Alford plea for the assault charge, maintaining his innocence. Moore said Smith entered the plea after losing faith in the criminal justice system. Under an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges the likelihood of a conviction if the case went to trial.
In 2011, the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office charged the person who was actually responsible for the murder, and Smith’s innocence was proven. But he still spent another year and a half in prison, the governor said. It wasn’t until 2012 that the state finally dropped the murder conviction.
In May 2013, Smith petitioned the court to revisit his Alford plea for the assault charge, and his sentence was modified to time served, plus three years probation, which was later reduced to probation.
“I am deeply sorry for the fact that our justice system failed you not once, but our justice system failed you twice, and while no amount of money can make up for what was taken from you, the action this board is taking today represents a formal acknowledgment from the state for the injustice that was caused,” Moore told Smith.
veryGood! (623)
Related
- Brian Kelly asks question we're all wondering after Alabama whips LSU, but how to answer?
- ‘Dune: Part 2' release postponed to 2024 as actors strike lingers
- Mets to retire numbers of Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, who won 1986 World Series
- Savannah picks emancipated Black woman to replace name of slavery advocate on historic square
- Angels sign Travis d'Arnaud: Former All-Star catcher gets multiyear contract in LA
- Nerve agents, poison and window falls. Over the years, Kremlin foes have been attacked or killed
- MLB's toughest division has undergone radical makeover with Yankees, Red Sox out of power
- Keep 'my name out your mouth': Tua Tagovailoa responds to Ryan Clark's stripper comment
- Democratic state leaders prepare for a tougher time countering Trump in his second term
- Biden proposes vast new marine sanctuary in partnership with California tribe
Ranking
- Watch as massive amount of crabs scamper across Australian island: 'It's quite weird'
- Savannah picks emancipated Black woman to replace name of slavery advocate on historic square
- Reneé Rapp says she was body-shamed as the star of Broadway's 'Mean Girls'
- From Ramaswamy bashing to UFOs, the unhinged GOP debate was great TV, but scary politics
- Melissa Gilbert recalls 'painful' final moment with 'Little House' co-star Michael Landon
- Ed Sheeran has an album coming 4 months after his last: What we know about 'Autumn Variations'
- Broken, nonexistent air conditioning forces schools to change schedules during 'heat dome'
- UK: Russian mercenary chief’s likely death could destabilize his private army
Recommendation
-
King Charles III celebrates 76th birthday amid cancer battle, opens food hubs
-
The 6 most shocking moments and revelations from HBO's new Bishop Sycamore documentary
-
New York Police: Sergeant suspended after throwing object at fleeing motorcyclist who crashed, died
-
Reneé Rapp Says She Was Body-Shamed While Working on Broadway's Mean Girls
-
New 'Yellowstone' is here: Season 5 Part 2 premiere date, time, where to watch
-
BTK killer's Kansas home searched in connection to unsolved missing persons and murder cases
-
Ed Sheeran has an album coming 4 months after his last: What we know about 'Autumn Variations'
-
Bud Light goes on offense with NFL campaign, hopes to overcome boycott, stock dip