Two men wrongfully convicted of 1993 murder could get $25 million settlement
The above video is from a previous report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A $25 million settlement with the city is in the works for two men wrongfully convicted of the 1993 murder of an Illinois Institute of Technology basketball standout.
Tyrone Hood and Wayne Washington were exonerated in the 1993 slaying of Marshall Morgan Jr., after both had already spent years in prison - 22 years for Hood, and 14 for Washington.
They have long maintained their innocence, accusing then-detectives Kenneth Boudreau and John Halloran of fabricating evidence and coercing witnesses to testify against them. Washington also has said he was beaten into a false confession. The detectives in question have since been accused — many, many times — of beating confessions out of suspects.
Washington and Hood later sued the detectives and the city for their wrongful convictions.
According to court records, following multiple delays, their case against the city had been set to go to trial in June, but was called off after reaching a settlement agreement. Washington's legal team confirmed on Thursday that a $25 million settlement is in the works to cover both Washington and Hood, as well as their attorneys' fees in the case.
The settlement would have to be approved by the City Council, and a vote could come by next month's council meeting.
We uncovered Washington's story last year, when he took his fight for his innocence all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court, after he was originally denied a certificate of innocence despite being exonerated.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported last month, the state Supreme Court reversed an Appellate Court panel's decision – and granted a certificate of innocence to Washington – after he spent 14 years in prison for a murder he had nothing to do with.
The case will set a legal precedent for exonerations across the state.
"I don't think the reality really hit me yet," Washington said last month. "You're not guilty. You're just not innocent."
Long story short, Washington was beaten by Chicago Police detectives into confessing to the murder of Marshall Morgan Jr., a 20-year-old basketball player at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The detectives in question have since been accused — many, many times — of beating confessions out of suspects.
Washington took a plea deal, thinking that was his quickest way out, and served 14 years in prison.
It was only after his release that it became clear that the basketball player's father, who had taken out a $50,000 life insurance policy on his son right before he turned up dead, was actually the killer.
Washington was exonerated, but he didn't get a certificate of innocence, which officially wipes his slate clean.
"It was a hard reality when I tried for a job position," he said. "They ran it back and I didn't pass the background check."
An appeals court said that was because he technically pleaded guilty.
He was a free man, but unable to apply for jobs – or even chaperone his daughter's field trips.
Washington and his team of lawyers, including attorney Steve Greenberg, took his fight for that piece of paper all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.
"Anyone who objectively looked at it would know that he was innocent," Greenberg said last month.
And the Illinois Supreme Court agreed in July — granting Washington his innocence, and setting a legal precedent for other exonerees in his position.
"This is going to definitely open up a lot of doors," Washington said.
So after decades of fighting — what's next? Washington and Greenberg hope that the decision leads to a more thorough evaluation of police brutality cases at the city level.
"Brandon Johnson should appoint someone to look at all of these cases - just as they do in other large litigation situations - and start talking about resolving all of the cases and doing what's right for these people who have suffered," Greenberg said.
In recent years, Illinois has consistently led the nation in exonerations for wrongful convictions. Last year, Illinois accounted for more than half of all exonerations in the country.