Mass. man settles wrongful conviction suit

His conviction was vacated after DNA testing of semen found on the victim's bed sheets excluded him. Charles asserts that he had been targeted by a police officer with a vendetta who hid evidence in pursuit of his wrongful conviction. No wonder they did not want the matter to go to trial. Since he was formally entitled to only $500,000, there is nearly $3 million of guilt money there

A Massachusetts man who spent 18 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of raping three women has settled a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Boston for $3.25 million.

City lawyer William Sinnott says the city settled with Ulysses Rodriguez Charles earlier this month to avert a federal trial.

The deal comes eight months after a jury cited "clear and convincing evidence" that the 59-year-old Charles was innocent of the 1980 rapes in Boston's Brighton neighborhood and was entitled to $500,000 under the state's wrongful conviction compensation law.

Charles' lawyer tells The Boston Globe his client is a victim, just as the three women were victims. Charles' legal problems are not over. He now faces deportation to his native Trinidad.

Original report here



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