New York authorities will pay nearly $18 million (17 million euros) to a man who was wrongly convicted of murder and spent a quarter-century in prison, lawyers said.
This is one of the largest wrongful conviction settlements in New York history, lawyers for Johnny Hincapie, who was released in 2015, said Friday.
Colombian Hincapie, then 18, was among a group of youths accused of fatally stabbing American Brian Watkins in a New York subway station in 1990.
Hincapie, who had no criminal record, said he was forced to confess to the crime, and despite repenting of the false confession, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
He had already served 25 years, three months and eight days in prison when the sentence was annulled.
In a statement released Friday, Hincapie, now 50, said he had never forgotten what happened to Watkins.
“I am fortunate that my city and state have finally recognized my innocence, and I look forward to the next chapter of my life with my family.”
One of Hincapie’s attorneys, Gabriel P. Harvis, called the settlement reached with the city and state of New York a recognition of “the client’s innocence and qualities as a person.”
Source: Observadora
