US EditionMaryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder, agrees to $340K payment for years in prison
- After being wrongfully convicted of murder and spending over five years in prison, Demetrius Smith has been awarded more than $340,000 in compensation from the state of Maryland. The prosecution's case against Smith was weak, and they relied on witnesses who later recanted their testimony. Despite his innocence being proven, Smith still spent an additional year and a half in prison before he was released in 2013.
- Despite losing faith in the criminal justice system, Smith entered an Alford plea for the assault charge in 2011. It wasn't until the following year that the state finally dropped the murder conviction. Smith's sentence was eventually modified, but he had already spent a significant amount of time behind bars for crimes he did not commit.
- Governor Wes Moore apologized to Smith on behalf of the state of Maryland, acknowledging that the justice system had failed him not once, but twice. Moore emphasized that the settlement was a formal acknowledgment of the injustice Smith had endured and the long overdue justice he deserved. Smith's innocence was eventually proven, and in 2011, the person responsible for the murder was charged.
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Moore apologizes to wrongfully convicted Baltimore man - Maryland Matters
By LUCY HUBBARD Gov. Wes Moore (D) apologized Wednesday to a Baltimore man who was wrongfully imprisoned on an erroneous murder conviction after the man was awarded more than $300,000 in compensation by the Board of Public Works. “I am deeply sorry for the fact that our justice system failed you not once, but our justice system failed you twice,” Moore said to Demetrius Smith. “And, while no amount of money can make up for what was taken from y…
Maryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder, will pay $340K for years in prison: ‘Our justice system failed you’
A man wrongly convicted of two separate violent crimes will be compensated by the state of Maryland after spending years behind bars, including over a year after he had been proved innocent.
Maryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder, agrees to $340K payment for years in prison
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A man wrongly convicted of two separate violent crimes will be compensated by the state of Maryland after spending years behind bars, including over a year after he had been proven innocent.
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