Illinois man gets $25M for wrongful conviction

More details of the case here. He was released in 2009

A Cook County jury awarded $25 million Tuesday to a man who sued the city of Chicago after he spent more than half of his life in prison for a murder he didn't commit.

Thaddeus Jimenez was 13 years old when he was convicted in 1993 for the murder of 19-year-old Eric Morro. Jimenez served 16 years of a 45-year sentence in prison before prosecutors asked a judge to vacate his conviction and he received a certificate of innocence in 2009.

Jimenez, who's now 32 years old, is "thrilled" with the verdict, according to attorney Jon Loevy. "Every time he's ever stepped into a courtroom, something bad has happened," Loevy said. "And this time, justice was served."

In a civil suit filed in 2009 against the city of Chicago and several officers, Jimenez accused police of ignoring the evidence against another teen, including a recorded confession, in order to frame him. That teen, who was also 13 at the time, was charged with the murder weeks after Jimenez was released from prison, attorneys say.

Officers coerced Morro's friend and other eyewitnesses to identify him as the gunman. No physical evidence linked him to the crime. Morro was shot and killed on Feb. 3, 1993, as he walked with a friend.

Chicago Law Department spokesman Roderick Drew said the city is "very disappointed" in the decision. "The city will be exploring all available options," Drew said.

Rob Warden, executive director of Northwestern Law School's Center on Wrongful Convictions, said he believes the $25 million award is the largest ever given in a wrongful conviction civil case.

In 2007, the city of Chicago agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle lawsuits filed by four former death row inmates who claimed they were tortured by Chicago police officers and wrongly convicted.

Original report here




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