Current:Home > FinanceMichigan to pay $1.75 million to innocent man after 35 years in prison-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Michigan to pay $1.75 million to innocent man after 35 years in prison
View Date:2024-12-23 15:29:33
The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $1.75 million to an innocent man who spent 35 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of sexual assault.
Louis Wright was released in November after authorities said DNA tests ruled him out as the perpetrator in an attack on an 11-year-old girl in Albion, a small town in southwestern Michigan, in 1988.
People who are exonerated based on new evidence are eligible for $50,000 for each year spent in a Michigan prison. The attorney general’s office sometimes resists paying, based on strict criteria in the law, but quickly agreed to compensate Wright.
The deal was approved by a judge Wednesday.
Wright told The Associated Press that he’ll likely use some money for a house as well as a vehicle for a sister.
“Nothing can make up for 35 years in a Michigan prison for something he did not do,” Wright’s attorney, Wolf Mueller, said. “This is a first step toward getting Louis’ life back at the age of 65.”
Police investigating the assault settled on Wright as the suspect after an off-duty officer said he had been seen in the neighborhood. Police said he confessed, though the interview was not recorded and he did not sign a confession, according to the Cooley Law School Innocence Project.
The victim was never asked to identify Wright, the Innocence Project said.
Wright eventually pleaded no-contest to the charges and was sentenced to 25 years to 50 years in prison. He then tried to withdraw his plea at sentencing, but the request was denied.
Wright was repeatedly eligible for parole consideration, starting in 2008. But he refused to take a sex offender therapy class, a key condition for release, and remained behind bars until DNA cleared him, Mueller said.
“He said, ‘I didn’t do this crime. I’m not taking a therapy class.’ He cost himself several years, just standing on principle,” Mueller said Friday. “Not a lot of guys would do that.”
Wright said he knew he would eventually be cleared when his mouth was swabbed last summer for DNA testing.
“I spent the last couple months in prison with a smile on my face. Everyone thought I had something up my sleeve,” he said.
Since his release, Wright has been reuniting with family and enjoying simple things, such as shooting pool in a bar. Thanksgiving was special, he said, because it meant having a genuine turkey dinner — not the “white slab slime stuff.”
“I had the real thing,” said Wright, adding: “I’m just taking it one day at a time right now.”
Separately, Mueller filed a lawsuit against police seeking more than $100 million. The lawsuit claims Wright’s rights were violated during the investigation in 1988.
___
Follow Ed White at https://twitter.com/edwritez
veryGood! (7)
Related
- New York races to revive Manhattan tolls intended to fight traffic before Trump can block them
- Blackpink’s Jisoo and Actor Ahn Bo-hyun Are Dating
- Ashlee Simpson's Barbie-Themed Birthday Party For Daughter Jagger Is Simply Fantastic
- Drexel University mourns death of men's basketball player, Terrence Butler
- Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
- Singapore executes third prisoner in 2 weeks for drug trafficking
- Lindsay Lohan Shares Postpartum Photo and Message on Loving Her Body After Welcoming Baby Boy
- The incandescent lightbulb ban is now in effect. Here's what you need to know.
- Research reveals China has built prototype nuclear reactor to power aircraft carrier
- California voters may face dueling measures on 2024 ballot about oil wells near homes and schools
Ranking
- Shaboozey to headline halftime show of Lions-Bears game on Thanksgiving
- Report: Ex-New Mexico State basketball coach says he was unaware of hazing within program
- Adidas is donating Yeezy sales to anti-hate groups. US Jews say it’s making best of bad situation
- Christina Aguilera Makes a Convincing Case to Wear a Purse as a Skirt
- Flurry of contract deals come as railroads, unions see Trump’s election looming over talks
- Migrant crisis in New York City worsens as asylum seekers are forced to sleep on sidewalks
- Drag artists and LGBTQ+ activities sue to block Texas law expanding ban on sexual performances
- Ohio utility that paid federal penalty says it’s now being investigated by a state commission
Recommendation
-
Mississippi rising, Georgia falling in college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 after Week 11
-
The Hills' Whitney Port Says She Doesn't Look Healthy Amid Concern Over Her Weight
-
Father drowns to death while saving his 3 kids from river
-
Grieving families confront Pittsburgh synagogue shooter at death penalty sentencing
-
Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting
-
Review: 'Heartstopper' Season 2 is the beautiful and flawed queer teen story we need
-
Petting other people's dogs, even briefly, can boost your health
-
Stock market today: Asia mixed after the US government’s credit rating was cut