damages
Policeman blames black man for murder – after 21 years in prison, he’s now paid millions
Darryl Howard with one of his attorneys, Barry Scheck, in 2016 when a judge overturned his sentence
© Chuck Liddy // Picture Alliance
An American was sentenced to 80 years in prison for a case he never committed. Now the man is to receive compensation.
Darryl Howard was sentenced to 80 years in prison for murder and arson in 1995, allegedly responsible for the deaths of Doris Washington and her 13-year-old daughter Nishonda. After more than 20 years in prison, he was released in 2016 after a judge for the Durham District, North Carolina, United States found a procedural error and new evidence of DNA exonerated the man.
A year later, Howard filed a nationwide civil rights lawsuit against former police officer Darryl Dowdy. The charge: Dowdy had made up the story that led to his conviction. It was then found that the ex-police officer had falsified evidence in the course of his investigation.
Sex worker lied in court
The victims Doris Washington and her daughter Nishonda were murdered in 1991. About a year later, according to investigators, Dowdy shared details of the case with a sex worker and drug addict with mental health problems.
In an earlier recording, played during the 1995 trial, the woman claimed she saw Howard attack Doris Washington and take him upstairs to her apartment. He is said to have said afterwards that he had to burn the corpses. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene.
It wasn’t until August of this year that she retracted her testimony by means of an affidavit, stating that Dowdy had told her what to testify in court. Both the tape and Dowdy’s notes on the case are nowhere to be found, according to the court.
Criminal defense pleaded racism
Darrly Howard has now been awarded six million dollars in damages by the court. After all, he was falsely imprisoned for over 20 years. His attorneys cited racism as the motive: “I think our defense strategy has been somewhat successful. But I also think the verdict does not recognize the suffering Darryl went through,” said Nick Brustin, one of Howards Lawyers to “Unilad”. His lawyer Emma Freudenberger adds: “It’s a large sum[compensation, editor’s note]… and you know what? It’s not nearly big enough.” [SchadensersatzAnmdRedaktion}undwissenSiewas?Sieistnichtannäherndgroßgenug”
source: “Unilad”, “ABC News”