Prosecutors forgot to turn over documents?! More like didn't turn them in on purpose because they wanted another conviction on their record. Vile scum.
Prosecutors which "forget" to turn over evidence in accordance with the rules should spend the same amount of time in prison the Innocent Man spent in prison!
Several states have laws that give jury or evidence tampering the same penalty as the case being tamper with... yet it's strange how those charges are always waived when it's police or prosecutors in the seat.
The tax payers housed this man for 21 years, now the same taxpayers are to pay him a million dollars.... Those responsible for his arrest, prosecution and sentencing should be the ones who collectively pay him.
I don't think that's the kind of "housing" you or I would enjoy, friend. We'd much rather have our OWN house! Our own time with our families and friends, our own time to do as we pleased. This is such a disgrace. Take away ALL of the pensions from those responsible for this miscarriage of justice, and pay the victim here that money too! This whole thing stinks. 😞
@@beadbird It's still housing YOU pay for if you live in that state, friend. It's also still a million dollars that YOU have to pay if you live in that state.
He lost years of Social Security and Medicare contributions, he lost years of his life, and he lost years of income. He needs to be compensated for all of these things. The state should also have to pay for his Medicare premiumns for life if he does not already qualify for Medicare.
He likely lost the property they found the ☠️ hunters on as well as anything else he couldn't pay taxes on, Cars etc. As well as 21 yr loss of female companionship. 🤦♂️
Barely a slice of the money they made by not telling people about their available funds less than $49 we heard about yesterday from Steve. Turns out we're being ruled by criminals!
Juries have awarded $6000 per hour of illegal incarceration. That total comes to $110M, not $21M. He should file civil suit for malicious prosecution since there is proof of prosecutorial misconduct.
$50k per year in compensation? If you paid minimum wage per hour in jail for a year - that's over $85,000. It should at least be double bc being locked up is horrible.
It really should be more than that. He should be compensated per labor laws if looking at it that way, beyond 40 is 1.5x. What he got is less than half of that, would have been 2.477m for 21 years.
It is not enough, but at least they have a law providing something. Many states have no law covering this, and I believe I heard that a few states prohibit such payments.
@@TheRealScooterGuy I'm surprised if those states that leave victims with nothing left to lose don't end up with more dead officers and prosecutors. I certainly know what I'd be up to if the state wrongfully left me with nothing.
$ 1.000.000 dollars for spending 21 years in prison ? How many of us would trade 21 years of your life for that ? Disgusting . And what are the chances of anyone being held accountable for that ? Guess we all know that’s slim to none . Justice is only available to those that have money or are connected .
This sure resonates for me. All my "no trespassing" and "no hunting" signs have mysteriously vanished into thin air. A few years ago I had a group of five 17 & 18 year old males in a cluster of trees right on the front of my property that were breaking glass bottles, dumping garbage, etc. I'm a widow, so I first called the cops, and I was armed (holstered) when asking them to leave my property. One of them shouted "I'm gonna f****n kill you b***h!" and started rushing towards me. When I pulled my firearm they took off. The cops pulled up as this went down and caught one of them. He ratted his buddies out, and they were made to clean up their garbage. That's it. No arrests made and no apologies to me. One cop was more concerned about my firearm. He asked if it's loaded. When I said "of course it is", he tried to demand my concealed carry permit. What a joke. Sorry for the long comment. It's just so infuriating that nothing is ever done to trespassers. I'm still dealing with it on a regular basis. 😠😡😤
Thank you lady you share your experience with us. But at Germany it is still same. When you own a huge property, trespassers remove the trespassing signs. Dangerous when private hunters hunt deer and shoots accidently the landlord. Or even other dangerous situations become true. That is why German police take trespassing very serious.
There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman. --Brendan Behan I'm sorry you had to learn that first-hand.
If you are in Michigan, this is an Open Carry state. No permit to conceal carry required. The cop should know this. Most cops are not the brightest tools in the shed. They should have thanked you, then arrested the little jerk for assaulting you.
@@ElmshornBoy Thank you as well. I'm somewhat surprised that this occurs in Germany too. I lived in Germany for a year. The people were so much more respectful of others' properties than we Americans are. I'm glad to hear that your polizei consider trespassing a serious offense. Guten tag. 🙂🤗
Given the egregiousness of this, why isn't the state paying his attorney fees? Why would a VICTIM have to pay the legal expenses to undo the damage the state caused?
@@GamesFromSpaceIf there was ever a federal case of conspiracy to deprive and deprivation under the color of rights, false imprisonment, official oppression this would be one of them. Certainly this should fall into an 43US1983 case. The life expectancy of men is 74. They for all intents and purposes robbed this man of what was left of his life. Put him through an unimaginable emotional and psychological torture. The million only salves their conscience it does not give him justice.
It's also another economic system, and there were unjust punishments during the Middle Ages, also Classical Rome, and in just about every form of system there is. Is the problem "Capitalism" when it's a uniform and universal experience?
Cops, lawyers, & prosecuting attorneys all should have to have MALPRACTICE INSURANCE to pay the innocent people the convict for crimes committed by others. That way taxpayers would not be liable for paying the for the mistakes of those involved in putting an innocent person in prison.
Well, the prosecutors should have to pay for insurance, they are the ones possibly putting innocent people into prison. The defense lawyers, you could argue if they need it or not depending on how good they are?
@@callak_9974 Court appointed lawyers should have it. Because they do not always do what they are supposed to do. I know of times when a court appointed lawyer was used just to get their innocent client to plead guilty to a charge or charges just to make the prosecuting attorney's job easier by not going to trial.
"...the prosecution has an obligation..." This is true in theory but not in reality. If there is no punishment for failing an obligation, there's no real obligation. And we all know these prosecutors will not be punished.
True. The WORST that happens is that the conviction gets overturned and the wrongly convicted defendant set free. But does the corrupt Deputy DA lose his law license, or get fined or imprisoned for Obstruction of Justice and/or Perjury? I believe in all criminal proceedings, the DA is required to sign an affidavit, attesting that ALL evidence, whether it might tend to convict or exonerate the defendant, has been shared with his counsel in the discovery process. So deliberately withholding evidence is both Obstruction of Justice AND PERJURY, CRIMES which should be severely punished by the Court, as the Deputy DA is supposed to know better and also to uphold the law.
@@selfdoThe DA does not investigate crimes, detectives do. If the detectives withheld evidence from the DA, how is the DA to know? Many DA's wont go to trial unless they think they can win it. If there is too much doubt they won't prosecute. Detectives know that and sometimes choose to withhold evidence to the DA to make their case 'stronger'. The police file often also contains avenues that didn't pan out. Suspects that were cleared and such. If the DA withheld evidence from the defendant (s)he should be sued, if the police/detectives withheld evidence from the DA, the department should be sued... Either way, I'm pretty sure that a lot of lawyers are current requesting police files of cases handled by this DA/Police department to see if also 'mistakes' were made in their cases...
@@2Fast4Mellow Yes, a deputy DA can't "know" what avenues of investigation weren't pursued. But DA's don't simply wait for whatever the LEOs give them; they employ investigators too; as investigation is not specifically what an attorney is paid to do. There have been instances where the DA quashed exculpatory evidence, or, as you pointed out, it's the POLICE that did that, KNOWINGLY. Those are travesties of justice. Simply being wrong about dismissing taking time to uncover evidence that would have tended to clear the suspect is more a matter of chance, and is NOT judicial nor professional misconduct. Detectives, DAs, and the court have limited time and resources, as you pointed out, they won't go to trial over a case they don't predict they'd win. However, what you FORGOT to mention is that most criminal cases don't go to trial anyway! The reason is simple: there are TOO MANY of them. Many decry the "plea bargain" process, w/o realizing that there's simply not enough courts, judges, and other personnel necessary to convene a court for a "speedy" trial (never defined in the Constitution in terms of a time limit). The defendant, OTOH, likewise may not have been able to "bail out" or win "OR" (release w/o bail), so unless he believes that the likely outcome is a significant prison stretch anyway, he's got a LIFE to get back to. Nor can anyone just afford a lengthy trial that can easily run into tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and most attorneys won't devote the time unless some assets are pledged, like equity on a home. The plea-bargaining process is necessary in order to expedite justice, and it' comes down to whether the accused "knows" he guility...of SOMETHING, and the likelihood of his prevailing at trial. His attorney will advise him on his chances, and, of course, in light of the resources the defendant has. The State and its legal reps have the DUTY to get at the TRUTH, b/c, by definition, that's the "Win", but many are, for career ambitions and/or politics, more interested in securing convictions than actual "justice". That's the REALITY of the matter. Many are simply "ambitious", but some do "Cheat".
There is no amount of money that can adequately compensate a human being for being deprived for 21 YEARS of freedom. The amount could be in the hundreds of millions and it wouldn't be enough.
If they are trying to hold people accountable for there actions . Why are the tax payers paying while the prosecutor walks free for hiding evidence and makes a load of money . Does anyone else see the flaw in the good old boys theory .?
Life expectancy for men dropped one full year, from 74.2 years in 2020 to 73.2 in 2021. Doesn't have a lot of time left to put it behind him and move on. Unless this man manages to beat the expectancy odds, he was pretty much robbed of his life.
Mr. Lehto I went and looked up this case and the news station says lawyers DO NOT get any of the money. But again...how about the PROSECUTION of the lawyer who violated his rights for 21 YEARS !!!!
How exactly can you be compensated for losing 21 years of your life? This is not justice. This is not even vengeance. The prosecutor should have 21 years of jail time.
I worked inside a Michigan prison for years. Coming from a small farming community it was a culture shock to put it mildly. I really had no idea how many evil people are around us every day. My impression of what prison life was like was what Hollywood showed us in movies. Nothing is farther from the truth! Prison life is boring. Prison life is dangerous. Prison life takes away all your freedom. Prison life is your worst nightmare's nightmare. Oh, by the way...The food really does suck. I would never, ever do anything that might put me inside a prison. Not much I could do about being wrongfully convicted. That's why we have lawyers. All the money on this planet is not near enough to make it worth my while. My freedom is worth way more than that!
After 21 years of being institutionalized, he is a broken man. At 71 years old, the value of money is nowhere as important as his mental health and functioning at the same level as an un-institutionalized citizen. The compensation will allow him to cope but his ability to socialize with peers his own age is forever damaged. It's as if time had stopped for him at age 50 and resumed at age 71; or he had been in a coma for 21 years and woke to a brand new world.
State of Missouri has NO Legislation in place to Compensate Wrongly Convicted. Several several High Profile Cases that were Covered on Prime Time TV. 🤪👎
There’s a certain line of reasoning to defend that. If I’m wrongly convicted or imprisoned, I’m killing people when I get out. There’s no justice otherwise.
@@robertheinkel6225 DAs get pretty angry when you refuse plea deals. I was falsely accused and put on trial once. I refused the plea deal so the DA took it to trial even though he had no case. Even after I proved my innocence, perhaps especially because of, they kept the case open for years. It screwed with a background check for my first consulting job. The court dragged their feet for over a month and deliberately waited till the client went with the runner up before they sorta fixed things.
He was punished for two murders he did not commit. Since he's already paid the price for said murders, he should get two murders for free. I suspect he'd be strongly motivated to use his two freebies for members of the prosecution...
They do that in my country (Germany) to a certain degree. There is a compensation per day and than there is the damage to your wheath that you can prove. They can substract the costs from the second one, but not the first one (according to wiki).
In a case such as this one, my biggest concern is how does it take 21 years to get the DA to show all of their evidence. Then, how does the serial killer not be a suspect and a guy with no evidence against him is? I think some heads need to roll on this one and I also believe more than a few employees need to be terminated and indicted for unlawful matters in their work. The state needs to pay this guy more and they need to prosecute everyone who could have been part of the discovery cover up. These people need to be strung up and the state needs to clean house.
How does it take 21 years? The piece of [redacted] DA just tucks the file away in a cardboard box in some storage annex, and the material is not reviewed until and unless someone like this guy's legal defenders or a very bored news reporter or book writer or some new person taking over the DA's job opens the right box, finds the right folder, and strikes metaphorical gold.
@@MonkeyJedi99 Yes true but likely the man was appealing one year # 1. The DA or Assnt DA who didn't share their complete file to the defense needs to be terminated, and tried in court. Jail time for sure.
How many crimes/murders did the guilty person who has been free for 21 years. Why is it a higher priority to get a conviction than convict the correct person. Everyone who withheld evidence should get 21 years in jail.
If the guilty person was that serial killer they suggested, then he wasn't free. They caught him, and he died in prison ten years ago. They simply never prosecuted him for these murders. But yeah, sometimes it seems the prosecutors are more interested in closing cases than in actual justice.
Numbers. Let me tell you how the Netherlands got the crime.. NUMBERS... down (hint: but not the.. ACTUAL crimes): they made it much, much harder to file an official complaint. We used to have police stations in each neighborhood, and one big station downtown, open and manned 24/7. If you got beat up in the middle of the night: you could walk over there, and they would file a report. Not anymore. All .. ALL the neighborhood stations: have simply closed. The big station: you can only go in from 9 to 5, from monday to friday. And you cant just walk in and file a report. Oh no. You have to make an appointment first. And when they finally sit down with you: they do everything they can to not file a report. Basically: if they have to do ANY work: they will flat out refuse to file a report. You have to LITERALLY take a lawyer with you: that demands from them that they follow the law: and file a report. Why? Because of the NUMBERS. They can boost that they have less crimes reported: each year! And most off those reported crimes: get solved! Yeaaaaaa! Except: thats not what the citizens get. The citizens get that if their windows are smashed out by someone with a no2 bottle, they wont even file a report. They wont even fingerprint the cannister. THEY .. DONT .. CARE. They cant catch the criminal: they WONT file a report, they WONT lift a finger. UNTILLLLLLL you threaten to beat up the criminals ... YOURSELF. THEN... they are at your house, putting handcuffs on you within TEN MINUTES. Now, my taxpayers money goes to a gang, that does NOT protect me. AND makes sure: that I dont protect MYSELF. I always say it a better deal to pay protection money to the maffia. At least then: you will get sóme protection. And théy will allow you to defend yourself when robbed by someone else.
Now its the prosecutors turn to spend the next 21 years in prison. Instead they are probably collecting a hefty pension . How many others did they do this too?
The compensation is too low for two reasons: not enough money for all of the bad things that could come with imprisonment, AND an amount that would discourage with holding of evidence. This amount means nothing to a State's budget.
Should have, yes. But the DA probably had an "innocent chat" with the judge before or during the case at the local bar or golf course and made sure the case would glide through unopposed.
The fact that this man could be imprisoned with a life sentence, based on no evidence and only to keep a hood prosecution record is DISGUSTING. A prosecutor who would imprison any human without ANY evidence should be buried underneath the same prison he sent the innocent people to. How many other people have had this situation happen to them, only to live the rest of their lives behind bars with a horrible charge on their character.
How many prosecutors have been convicted of falsely imprisoning citizens? Zero you say? There is your problem. As long as prosecutors dont end up in jail for falsely imprisoning citizens: NOTHING will happen, and people WILL get put into jail: innocently.
What is ridiculous, Vanessa Bryant got $30M for some officers showing pictures of Kobe to some people in a bar. And here is a man that was in jail for 20 years and he gets a little over 1M, probably half after the lawyers cut.
Jurors OFTEN get it wrong. They don't understand instructions furthermore they want to be hero's. As a Juror its your job to assess the evidence and the testimony. This jury absolutely had reasonable doubt.
How many other innocent people did this prosecutor get convicted? These are intentional acts not looking for justice but for convictions. The prosecutor should be behind bars if not executed.
People on juries really need to actually listen to the innocent until proven guilty part. Most serial killers are great to their family, friends, church aquaintaces and work buddies. Rapists tend to be well liked in their communities but normal people go to jail because people just don’t like them.
I had this happen, a guy exposed himself to me and when the cops investigated him they were like it couldn't be him because he has a girlfriend. I thought that was the stupidest thing I have ever heard for clearing someone of a crime.
@@mystichawk1612 did you at least stab him? You cant let such blatant disrespect go unpunished, what if he tries again with 1 of your younger family members. A good stabbing would prevent him from trying it again. Go to craigslist, it's full of psychos willing to do anything for money
Documents the prosecutors "forgot" to turn over to the defense. I never believe that to be the case. The very idea that trained professional lawyers would "forget" the very documents that would tend to prove innocence is preposterous. Of course they did it on purpose because to a significant number of American prosecutors, winning is much more important than justice.
This kind of BS will not stop until the corrupt POS prosecutors, judges, police & jurors all over this country are held accountable. All of them should be sentenced to 21 yrs. It's just another example of why I don't care if a cop or prosecutor gets put in a ⚰️.
The prosecutor who "forgot" to hand over those documents should be the one on the foot for the bill. Forced to pay the state back, also he must spend the rest of his life, or at least 21 years in prison... And that needs to be a federal wide law! prosecutors who go out of their way to convict and obviously innocent person that they have evidence that would clear him need themselves to face the exact same punishments......
I've heard about this case somewhere berore. My recollection is that the hunters were not even on his property. They were on adjacent property near the border of his property. Also, two of his neighbors helped a man get his truck out of a ditch shortly after hearing shots. Apparently they made no connection, because this didn't come up until later. When it did, a sketch artist made a drawing from the witness description. The sketch showed a likeness resembling the serial killer.
You were wrongly imprisoned for 21 years, finally get out, you have been paid out $1050000, some goes to the attorney and all the property you owned before is now gone. That million probably isn't worth much in getting all your stuff back and getting your life back together and they still don't know who murdered those people... Those prosecutors... I don't think I need to say it.
Every time I hear about a case like this, I wonder if ANY amount of compensation is enough for those lost years. I wonder if any type of official apologies is sufficient to these victims. individuals. These cases also point out the reason why my brother was an opponent of the death penalty. He said that it was the only penalty that the state couldn’t take back if the system failed.
nothing can compensate for the nights locked down not knowing if your going to get shanked for some statement made to the wrong convict. His name was slandered, his life was stolen. People get a couple of years for stealing millions of dollars.
@@CerebralHell "Your honor, I was convicted of murder and served over two decades. I would like ten minutes and a baseball bat to make the DA no longer a liar."
What happens when lawyers, police, politicians, even medical professionals, consider their profession a game they have to win and forget about other people. The people just become pieces in the game to be sacrificed for their career advancement. Who got hurt; the wrongfully accused/convicted, the families of the victims and the public. Who benefits, the lawyer’s career and the actual criminal that wasn’t prosecuted.
I caught some people hunting on my grandmother's property many decades ago. Nobody lived on the property. Very few people actually ever went out there. I was one of the very few that went out there. There was a house that was out there that was long since not livable and upon that was long since dried up but I caught some people out there hunting and it was 40 acres. Lots of ranches all the way around it. And they were given permission to hunt on the property by the guy that lived across the street who leased the property years before that but never paid my grandmother anything. He was supposed to pay her $200 a month for it and never paid her anything when he got caught giving people permission to hunt on that property. He came up with 600 bucks real fast and gave it to my grandmother for back rent but he was several years past the you know rental. He wasn't renting it anymore. Let's just put it that way. She was grateful to have the money and was very upset that there were people hunting on the property. They were for the most part. Pleasant. They were confused as to why this guy was giving him permission when it wasn't his property but that happens and I know this is a rare case but that's what I ran into once I have known others that ran into people that were hunting on their property and they were having a real problem with people hunting on the property and it was becoming quite a threat. The people hunting on the property weren't actively threatening them but the fact that they were on the property a lot and would run into a hunter or just out of the blue. Somebody would be shooting their direction. That was a problem. They couldn't keep the signs up but in this state all you got to do is put a fence up and that reasonably tells people they're not supposed to be on the property that also sets the boundaries of the property line very visibly and then if you catch them you have to tell them you know they they're trespassing they have to leave and as long as they leave nothing else can be done. But if a don't leave then you can get the police involved
From someone that was falsely imprisoned for a crime I never committed and who was given the town drunk as my public defender and all my witness statements got "lost" I have more and more hate for our FAKE justice system. Close to half the people in prison should have their case relooked at if not thrown out all together. This guy is luck they even let him out, there is a guy that was released by the courts but yet still behind bars years later, never let out.
I truly feel sorry for these people that have not one ounce of morals, integrity, or basic human decency. To do this to another person just for the W is disgusting.
The problem in NY is, people can sue if they get hurt on your property, whether they're there legally or not. A burglar can sue the homeowner if he fslls down the stairs during a B&E. This why we're so adamant about trespassers. They coukd just be riding around on their snowmobiles and not realize they're heading towards a barbed wire fence, go through it, decapitating themselves. Now you have their families suing for wrongful death.
One of my favorite ones was, the doctor testified that her examination on June 6th found the injuries to the victim to be 2 to 3 weeks old no more than four weeks, old. The defendant writes on a yellow legal tablet, I have been incarcerated since March 19th. The public pretender puts that legal tablet in his briefcase and does not bring up that fact to the court. Do the math. Basically the doctor's testimony, clears the defendant of the charges. The defendant was sentenced to 10 years.
I was convicted of my business being open too late (a Tavern) when police sent a confidential informant in to refuse to leave at closing time. I called the police to remove her before time ran out, but the police arrested me instead and simply told her that she could leave. There was no trial. I sat there in the court room all day, and at the end of the day after everyone else had left, the judge walked up to me in the gallery and told me that the fine would be $500 and if this happened again, the fine would be $10,000.00. I was not allowed to say anything, he did not ask if I was guilty, no questions at all, no arresting officer, and no prosecutor. So, if the police set me up again with a false arrest, the fine would be $10K. The same judge that refused to render a verdict in the Holyfield trial forcing the family to settle for $80,000.00 in the wrongful death of their son for carrying a Bible on a public sidewalk. He gave all the murderous cops qualified immunity. Other settlements in similar cases was for $13M. Same one involved in several felonies with local police chief and officers. Corrupt as hell. The Jerseyville Cartel. Judges are criminals with immunity.
You are right. Most ppl dont understand the despair felt when you know you will never see freedom again, everyone who knows you has abandoned you, and nothing you say will convince the guards that you are innocent (usually consequences follow like getting put in lockup or the psyche ward). The hoplessness and depression set in. No amount of money is worth all of that. Its really kinda disappointing he didnt get more money, at tge very least, and noone else will have a single consequence for their actions.
This is a textbook example of why capital punishment should be eliminated for all but the most heinous of crimes and guilt beyond the shadow of doubt. Certainly not for a personality the judge and jury do not like.
I'd reserve it for people who record themselves and post evidence on the internet. Like those thug teenagers that seems stole a car and hit a bicyclist on purpose.
They paid him so little after stealing so much? No justice in this country. The judge and prosecutor should face harsh penalties if not prison time for this malpratice, as well as permenantly being barred from ever participating in the legal system again. Nothing will change until these sick and twisted evil monsters are held to account.
No one would want to spend time in prison for any amount of money. You literally would not want to do it. If you want to know what it's like being in prison, ask anyone who's ever been in prison. They will tell you it's not fun. You're treated beneath human. The roaches in the rooms get treated better than you do. Your fed the bare minimum amount of food. You have people around you that you wouldn't want to live next door to on the best of days and your next door to them. Living next door to them. Sometimes bunking with them on the worst of days and there's no guarantee you get out. You're getting anything you're convicted. They're going to treat you as convicted in prison. They're not going to believe you're innocent. They're not paid to believe you. They're paid to keep you in there and keep you alive barely and if by chance you find somebody who's willing to go to bat for you and fight for you to prove your innocence in court. I've heard of cases where somebody said yeah they're innocent. The judge said yeah they're innocent but they can't get out of prison. Or yeah they're innocent but then the prosecutor wants to try them again because well maybe we can get a conviction a second time and sometimes they do. You're innocence means nothing to anyone but you and if you're on for wrong charges and if you want to know what that means, look it up. You're going to have a really hard time in there this isn't like a game show where I spend four days in this haunted house and you get a million dollars. This is surrender your life forever and never get anything. It's not a game this country's full of people that were imprison for things they didn't do. In fact, the last thing I ever heard about this last study I heard said that upwards of 40% of people in prison are in prison for things that they did not do when I was a kid that was a quarter of the people but you're innocence means nothing once you're in prison and they're going to treat you like that
Tim Masters was imprisoned in Colorado. I entered the Colorado prison system just as his case was getting overturned, and I remember you couldn't throw a rock without hitting someone who had extorted him, kicked his ass, or knew someone who had done one or both of those. He wasn't just convicted of "some crime that he didn't do," he was convicted of sexually mutilating a woman to death, which of course made him one of the worst possible types of offenders in the eyes of his fellow inmates. Prison gang members who live by the convict code don't care that you might not be guilty, and in fact there's no reasoning that point to them because they're too dumb to properly question things anyway. Furthermore, Tim Masters didn't get to progress to any low-security facilities due to the severity of his conviction, which meant that he was guaranteed to endure his abuse for a solid decade with no breaks. So if anyone honestly believes they could just go to prison for ten years and quietly wait out the clock for an easy ten million dollars, I promise you that you CAN'T. That dude's traumatized for the rest of his life.
Here in West Virginia, we have purple paint. We have a law that if you ANYTHING painted purple, a tree, a stick or pipe driven into the ground, a boulder, an abandoned car, ANYTHING, it has the same force of law as a posted sign nailed to a tree. This negates the defense that some trespasser didn't know how to read.
That's chump change. Even the guy that got 10 million was barely compensated IMO. His attorney "Wolfgang" should be embarrassed over this. Unless there's other methods of collecting more as time goes on, this guy got ripped off beyond belief. Sure, he's "free" and maybe has 750K (before taxes, because he'll get raped on those too) so he'll be left with 350K if he's lucky. Injustice at its finest.
The state got off easy. One million for 21 years is not sufficient.
You are the state 🖖🏻
@@MrElemonator I don’t live in MI
It's probably not been updated for decades.
Yup
Prosecutors forgot to turn over documents?! More like didn't turn them in on purpose because they wanted another conviction on their record. Vile scum.
Prosecutors which "forget" to turn over evidence in accordance with the rules should spend the same amount of time in prison the Innocent Man spent in prison!
Corrupt New Orleans DA Harry Connick Sr spent 30 years railroading bl@ck men he knew were innocent. Dozens have been documented.
Several states have laws that give jury or evidence tampering the same penalty as the case being tamper with... yet it's strange how those charges are always waived when it's police or prosecutors in the seat.
@@Hevach The Government protects it's own. No surprise there.
Death penalty
The tax payers housed this man for 21 years, now the same taxpayers are to pay him a million dollars.... Those responsible for his arrest, prosecution and sentencing should be the ones who collectively pay him.
They should have to serve his sentence. At least.
I bet if they brought in the death sentence if officers make a mistake, that would clear things up pronto.
I don't think that's the kind of "housing" you or I would enjoy, friend. We'd much rather have our OWN house! Our own time with our families and friends, our own time to do as we pleased. This is such a disgrace. Take away ALL of the pensions from those responsible for this miscarriage of justice, and pay the victim here that money too! This whole thing stinks. 😞
@@beadbird It's still housing YOU pay for if you live in that state, friend. It's also still a million dollars that YOU have to pay if you live in that state.
Qualified immunity should exist for no one!.....how else did we end up with a 2 tier,3 tier,whatever it's up to now justice system of unequal rights?
He lost years of Social Security and Medicare contributions, he lost years of his life, and he lost years of income. He needs to be compensated for all of these things. The state should also have to pay for his Medicare premiumns for life if he does not already qualify for Medicare.
He likely lost the property they found the ☠️ hunters on as well as anything else he couldn't pay taxes on, Cars etc.
As well as 21 yr loss of female companionship.
🤦♂️
21 years & only 1 million dollars. That isn't nearly enough for the loss of basically a whole life.
Barely a slice of the money they made by not telling people about their available funds less than $49 we heard about yesterday from Steve.
Turns out we're being ruled by criminals!
These prosecutors in case like these should face consequences for their actions. The harm caused is irreversible.
In 21 years the prosecutor might be dead or retired in another state.
@@edcrichton9457 Why wait 21 years?
Americans don't have the balls to use the 2nd amendment anymore.
Should be 1 million per every year he served, and the scumbag prosecutors need to go to prison.
They either should be in prison or not be breathing the same air as us normal humans who aren't vile scumbags.
Yes I agree, 1 mil per year seems reasonable.
Juries have awarded $6000 per hour of illegal incarceration. That total comes to $110M, not $21M. He should file civil suit for malicious prosecution since there is proof of prosecutorial misconduct.
$50k per year in compensation? If you paid minimum wage per hour in jail for a year - that's over $85,000. It should at least be double bc being locked up is horrible.
It really should be more than that. He should be compensated per labor laws if looking at it that way, beyond 40 is 1.5x. What he got is less than half of that, would have been 2.477m for 21 years.
You can't buy reputation, family, funerals, graduations or time loss in prison.
I personally know someone who received 5 million for being incarcerated for no reason...this is a slap in the face!
It is not enough, but at least they have a law providing something. Many states have no law covering this, and I believe I heard that a few states prohibit such payments.
@@TheRealScooterGuy I'm surprised if those states that leave victims with nothing left to lose don't end up with more dead officers and prosecutors.
I certainly know what I'd be up to if the state wrongfully left me with nothing.
$ 1.000.000 dollars for spending 21 years in prison ? How many of us would trade 21 years of your life for that ? Disgusting . And what are the chances of anyone being held accountable for that ? Guess we all know that’s slim to none . Justice is only available to those that have money or are connected .
There never was anything called "Justice". That's just a fairy tale you tell children.
I hope it he at least gets SSI for life on top of that.
The $1M should come out of the prosecutor's pocket, since the prosecutor seems to have been the primary cause
21 million is to little.
He is 71. No ammount of money will compensate.
This sure resonates for me. All my "no trespassing" and "no hunting" signs have mysteriously vanished into thin air. A few years ago I had a group of five 17 & 18 year old males in a cluster of trees right on the front of my property that were breaking glass bottles, dumping garbage, etc. I'm a widow, so I first called the cops, and I was armed (holstered) when asking them to leave my property. One of them shouted "I'm gonna f****n kill you b***h!" and started rushing towards me. When I pulled my firearm they took off. The cops pulled up as this went down and caught one of them. He ratted his buddies out, and they were made to clean up their garbage. That's it. No arrests made and no apologies to me. One cop was more concerned about my firearm. He asked if it's loaded. When I said "of course it is", he tried to demand my concealed carry permit. What a joke. Sorry for the long comment. It's just so infuriating that nothing is ever done to trespassers. I'm still dealing with it on a regular basis. 😠😡😤
Thank you lady you share your experience with us. But at Germany it is still same. When you own a huge property, trespassers remove the trespassing signs. Dangerous when private hunters hunt deer and shoots accidently the landlord. Or even other dangerous situations become true. That is why German police take trespassing very serious.
@@glass1258 terrible advice; they can sue you if they survive. If you have to shoot, make sure you're the only one who can testify.
There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman. --Brendan Behan
I'm sorry you had to learn that first-hand.
If you are in Michigan, this is an Open Carry state. No permit to conceal carry required. The cop should know this.
Most cops are not the brightest tools in the shed. They should have thanked you, then arrested the little jerk for assaulting you.
@@ElmshornBoy Thank you as well. I'm somewhat surprised that this occurs in Germany too. I lived in Germany for a year. The people were so much more respectful of others' properties than we Americans are. I'm glad to hear that your polizei consider trespassing a serious offense. Guten tag. 🙂🤗
Given the egregiousness of this, why isn't the state paying his attorney fees? Why would a VICTIM have to pay the legal expenses to undo the damage the state caused?
Because capitalism can always make a bad situation worse.
@@GamesFromSpaceIf there was ever a federal case of conspiracy to deprive and deprivation under the color of rights, false imprisonment, official oppression this would be one of them. Certainly this should fall into an 43US1983 case. The life expectancy of men is 74. They for all intents and purposes robbed this man of what was left of his life. Put him through an unimaginable emotional and psychological torture. The million only salves their conscience it does not give him justice.
@GamesFromSpace Like there's no wrong convictions under communism, am i right. Fool.
@@pickcomb332 Is communism the only alternative to capitalism? Why even bring it up, when the problem was him being *charged fees*?
It's also another economic system, and there were unjust punishments during the Middle Ages, also Classical Rome, and in just about every form of system there is. Is the problem "Capitalism" when it's a uniform and universal experience?
People that say they would take $10M for 10 years in prison have never even been in the county lock up.
True,you are not the same person for what you seen or went through!!! The people you lost and couldnt spend time with before they passed!
Id take two million for two years but i wouldn't want to give up more of my life. Amd ive done a bid in FCI.
Cops, lawyers, & prosecuting attorneys all should have to have MALPRACTICE INSURANCE to pay the innocent people the convict for crimes committed by others. That way taxpayers would not be liable for paying the for the mistakes of those involved in putting an innocent person in prison.
Well, the prosecutors should have to pay for insurance, they are the ones possibly putting innocent people into prison. The defense lawyers, you could argue if they need it or not depending on how good they are?
@@callak_9974 Court appointed lawyers should have it. Because they do not always do what they are supposed to do. I know of times when a court appointed lawyer was used just to get their innocent client to plead guilty to a charge or charges just to make the prosecuting attorney's job
easier by not going to trial.
Guess who will pay the insurance premiums?
@@sealand000 Take it out of their paychecks
"...the prosecution has an obligation..." This is true in theory but not in reality. If there is no punishment for failing an obligation, there's no real obligation. And we all know these prosecutors will not be punished.
True. The WORST that happens is that the conviction gets overturned and the wrongly convicted defendant set free. But does the corrupt Deputy DA lose his law license, or get fined or imprisoned for Obstruction of Justice and/or Perjury? I believe in all criminal proceedings, the DA is required to sign an affidavit, attesting that ALL evidence, whether it might tend to convict or exonerate the defendant, has been shared with his counsel in the discovery process. So deliberately withholding evidence is both Obstruction of Justice AND PERJURY, CRIMES which should be severely punished by the Court, as the Deputy DA is supposed to know better and also to uphold the law.
@@selfdoThe DA does not investigate crimes, detectives do. If the detectives withheld evidence from the DA, how is the DA to know? Many DA's wont go to trial unless they think they can win it. If there is too much doubt they won't prosecute. Detectives know that and sometimes choose to withhold evidence to the DA to make their case 'stronger'.
The police file often also contains avenues that didn't pan out. Suspects that were cleared and such. If the DA withheld evidence from the defendant (s)he should be sued, if the police/detectives withheld evidence from the DA, the department should be sued... Either way, I'm pretty sure that a lot of lawyers are current requesting police files of cases handled by this DA/Police department to see if also 'mistakes' were made in their cases...
@@2Fast4Mellow Yes, a deputy DA can't "know" what avenues of investigation weren't pursued. But DA's don't simply wait for whatever the LEOs give them; they employ investigators too; as investigation is not specifically what an attorney is paid to do.
There have been instances where the DA quashed exculpatory evidence, or, as you pointed out, it's the POLICE that did that, KNOWINGLY. Those are travesties of justice. Simply being wrong about dismissing taking time to uncover evidence that would have tended to clear the suspect is more a matter of chance, and is NOT judicial nor professional misconduct. Detectives, DAs, and the court have limited time and resources, as you pointed out, they won't go to trial over a case they don't predict they'd win.
However, what you FORGOT to mention is that most criminal cases don't go to trial anyway! The reason is simple: there are TOO MANY of them. Many decry the "plea bargain" process, w/o realizing that there's simply not enough courts, judges, and other personnel necessary to convene a court for a "speedy" trial (never defined in the Constitution in terms of a time limit). The defendant, OTOH, likewise may not have been able to "bail out" or win "OR" (release w/o bail), so unless he believes that the likely outcome is a significant prison stretch anyway, he's got a LIFE to get back to. Nor can anyone just afford a lengthy trial that can easily run into tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and most attorneys won't devote the time unless some assets are pledged, like equity on a home. The plea-bargaining process is necessary in order to expedite justice, and it' comes down to whether the accused "knows" he guility...of SOMETHING, and the likelihood of his prevailing at trial. His attorney will advise him on his chances, and, of course, in light of the resources the defendant has.
The State and its legal reps have the DUTY to get at the TRUTH, b/c, by definition, that's the "Win", but many are, for career ambitions and/or politics, more interested in securing convictions than actual "justice". That's the REALITY of the matter. Many are simply "ambitious", but some do "Cheat".
The punishment will likely only come from Christopher Dorner II.
@@2Fast4Mellow They don't need to be sued. They need to be put in jail.
The fact the serial killerwas not just overlooked by the prosecution , but the detectives involved with the case. This is beyond sloppy!
There is no amount of money that can adequately compensate a human being for being deprived for 21 YEARS of freedom. The amount could be in the hundreds of millions and it wouldn't be enough.
I would say 21 million is fair compensation. 1 million for every year & the prosecutor should do 21 years in prison.
Prosecutors need to face some kind of repercussions for basically lying and putting innocent people in prison.
If they are trying to hold people accountable for there actions . Why are the tax payers paying while the prosecutor walks free for hiding evidence and makes a load of money . Does anyone else see the flaw in the good old boys theory .?
The odds in these old cases is that often, the actual people responsible for the fraudulent convictions are long-retired and/or dead.
How can the prosecution get away convicting this innocent man with no recourse on them other than a Million dollars, he lost his whole life.
By being in the right "class" of people. The cop/DA/judge club is strong and hard to pry open.
No one knows what hopelessness feels like until in settles over you. Prayers for this man that he puts this behind him and moves on with his life.
Life expectancy for men dropped one full year, from 74.2 years in 2020 to 73.2 in 2021. Doesn't have a lot of time left to put it behind him and move on. Unless this man manages to beat the expectancy odds, he was pretty much robbed of his life.
Jail the prosecutor
Or at least take the million dollars from the prosecutor. Not the extortion payer.
Mr. Lehto I went and looked up this case and the news station says lawyers DO NOT get any of the money. But again...how about the PROSECUTION of the lawyer who violated his rights for 21 YEARS !!!!
How exactly can you be compensated for losing 21 years of your life?
This is not justice. This is not even vengeance.
The prosecutor should have 21 years of jail time.
$1M seems like an insult considering the injustice.
What I want to know is, who is responsible for the cap at $50,000 per year?
Is worse as that money comes from the extortion payer and not the prosecutor.
If should be the prosecutor the one forced to pay for it.
The tax cattle pay....and the official criminals chuckle.
I worked inside a Michigan prison for years. Coming from a small farming community it was a culture shock to put it mildly. I really had no idea how many evil people are around us every day.
My impression of what prison life was like was what Hollywood showed us in movies. Nothing is farther from the truth! Prison life is boring. Prison life is dangerous. Prison life takes away all your freedom. Prison life is your worst nightmare's nightmare. Oh, by the way...The food really does suck. I would never, ever do anything that might put me inside a prison. Not much I could do about being wrongfully convicted. That's why we have lawyers.
All the money on this planet is not near enough to make it worth my while. My freedom is worth way more than that!
Well said
After 21 years of being institutionalized, he is a broken man. At 71 years old, the value of money is nowhere as important as his mental health and functioning at the same level as an un-institutionalized citizen. The compensation will allow him to cope but his ability to socialize with peers his own age is forever damaged. It's as if time had stopped for him at age 50 and resumed at age 71; or he had been in a coma for 21 years and woke to a brand new world.
well said. I hope he finds an excellent therapist and the state pays. This guy needs a golden ticket after this bs
State of Missouri has NO Legislation in place to Compensate Wrongly Convicted. Several several High Profile Cases that were Covered on Prime Time TV. 🤪👎
If there we more level headed honest people like Steve in this world life would be much happier.
Prosecutors never let the truth stand in the way of a conviction.
There are some places that knowing they are innocent they still will not let them out.
There’s a certain line of reasoning to defend that. If I’m wrongly convicted or imprisoned, I’m killing people when I get out. There’s no justice otherwise.
I recently about a case, where the witness recanted her whole story, but the state still waited an additional six months to release him.
@@robertheinkel6225 DAs get pretty angry when you refuse plea deals. I was falsely accused and put on trial once. I refused the plea deal so the DA took it to trial even though he had no case. Even after I proved my innocence, perhaps especially because of, they kept the case open for years. It screwed with a background check for my first consulting job. The court dragged their feet for over a month and deliberately waited till the client went with the runner up before they sorta fixed things.
He was punished for two murders he did not commit. Since he's already paid the price for said murders, he should get two murders for free. I suspect he'd be strongly motivated to use his two freebies for members of the prosecution...
I agree with this
seriously. That was my first though. Discovery is supposed to be so important but when they just do it nothing happens to em gotta change that
$50k per year? I'm surprised they didn't hold some back for room & board
Shhhh... don't give them any ideas.
They do that in my country (Germany) to a certain degree.
There is a compensation per day and than there is the damage to your wheath that you can prove.
They can substract the costs from the second one, but not the first one (according to wiki).
Trial judge, prosecutors and attorneys need to be locked up!
In a case such as this one, my biggest concern is how does it take 21 years to get the DA to show all of their evidence. Then, how does the serial killer not be a suspect and a guy with no evidence against him is? I think some heads need to roll on this one and I also believe more than a few employees need to be terminated and indicted for unlawful matters in their work. The state needs to pay this guy more and they need to prosecute everyone who could have been part of the discovery cover up. These people need to be strung up and the state needs to clean house.
How does it take 21 years?
The piece of [redacted] DA just tucks the file away in a cardboard box in some storage annex, and the material is not reviewed until and unless someone like this guy's legal defenders or a very bored news reporter or book writer or some new person taking over the DA's job opens the right box, finds the right folder, and strikes metaphorical gold.
@@MonkeyJedi99 Yes true but likely the man was appealing one year # 1. The DA or Assnt DA who didn't share their complete file to the defense needs to be terminated, and tried in court. Jail time for sure.
Even if your pay for his needs for the rest of his life you can't compensate time lost in life
Why should the extortion payer pay for the damage a prosecutor caused. Why isn't the prosecutor paying that money?
Prosecutors should get twice as many years for putting that man in jail.
One lousy million dollars for 21 years. That is unconscionable. It will be a lot less after they pay the lawyers.
How many crimes/murders did the guilty person who has been free for 21 years. Why is it a higher priority to get a conviction than convict the correct person. Everyone who withheld evidence should get 21 years in jail.
If the guilty person was that serial killer they suggested, then he wasn't free. They caught him, and he died in prison ten years ago. They simply never prosecuted him for these murders.
But yeah, sometimes it seems the prosecutors are more interested in closing cases than in actual justice.
Numbers. Let me tell you how the Netherlands got the crime.. NUMBERS... down (hint: but not the.. ACTUAL crimes): they made it much, much harder to file an official complaint. We used to have police stations in each neighborhood, and one big station downtown, open and manned 24/7. If you got beat up in the middle of the night: you could walk over there, and they would file a report. Not anymore. All .. ALL the neighborhood stations: have simply closed. The big station: you can only go in from 9 to 5, from monday to friday. And you cant just walk in and file a report. Oh no. You have to make an appointment first. And when they finally sit down with you: they do everything they can to not file a report. Basically: if they have to do ANY work: they will flat out refuse to file a report. You have to LITERALLY take a lawyer with you: that demands from them that they follow the law: and file a report.
Why? Because of the NUMBERS. They can boost that they have less crimes reported: each year! And most off those reported crimes: get solved! Yeaaaaaa! Except: thats not what the citizens get. The citizens get that if their windows are smashed out by someone with a no2 bottle, they wont even file a report. They wont even fingerprint the cannister. THEY .. DONT .. CARE. They cant catch the criminal: they WONT file a report, they WONT lift a finger.
UNTILLLLLLL you threaten to beat up the criminals ... YOURSELF. THEN... they are at your house, putting handcuffs on you within TEN MINUTES.
Now, my taxpayers money goes to a gang, that does NOT protect me. AND makes sure: that I dont protect MYSELF.
I always say it a better deal to pay protection money to the maffia. At least then: you will get sóme protection. And théy will allow you to defend yourself when robbed by someone else.
Now its the prosecutors turn to spend the next 21 years in prison. Instead they are probably collecting a hefty pension . How many others did they do this too?
His "hefty pension should be handed over to his victim.
One may also recall that, according to SCOTUS, “actual innocence” is not always sufficient to be released from prison.
To clarify, a defendant's claim of actual innocence is insufficient grounds for appellate review.
The compensation is too low for two reasons: not enough money for all of the bad things that could come with imprisonment, AND an amount that would discourage with holding of evidence. This amount means nothing to a State's budget.
I think the judge should have overruled the jury and called a mistrial for lack of evidence.
Should have, yes.
But the DA probably had an "innocent chat" with the judge before or during the case at the local bar or golf course and made sure the case would glide through unopposed.
The fact that this man could be imprisoned with a life sentence, based on no evidence and only to keep a hood prosecution record is DISGUSTING. A prosecutor who would imprison any human without ANY evidence should be buried underneath the same prison he sent the innocent people to. How many other people have had this situation happen to them, only to live the rest of their lives behind bars with a horrible charge on their character.
How many prosecutors have been convicted of falsely imprisoning citizens? Zero you say? There is your problem.
As long as prosecutors dont end up in jail for falsely imprisoning citizens: NOTHING will happen, and people WILL get put into jail: innocently.
What is ridiculous, Vanessa Bryant got $30M for some officers showing pictures of Kobe to some people in a bar. And here is a man that was in jail for 20 years and he gets a little over 1M, probably half after the lawyers cut.
Jurors OFTEN get it wrong. They don't understand instructions furthermore they want to be hero's. As a Juror its your job to assess the evidence and the testimony. This jury absolutely had reasonable doubt.
How many other innocent people did this prosecutor get convicted? These are intentional acts not looking for justice but for convictions. The prosecutor should be behind bars if not executed.
Jup. All the convictions of this prosecutor should be nullified. And the prosecutor should be hanged for convicting an innocent man. Thats my opinion.
People on juries really need to actually listen to the innocent until proven guilty part. Most serial killers are great to their family, friends, church aquaintaces and work buddies. Rapists tend to be well liked in their communities but normal people go to jail because people just don’t like them.
I had this happen, a guy exposed himself to me and when the cops investigated him they were like it couldn't be him because he has a girlfriend. I thought that was the stupidest thing I have ever heard for clearing someone of a crime.
@@mystichawk1612 kinda illustrates how simple people can be or how simply they want to perceive the world 🤷♂️
@@mystichawk1612 did you at least stab him? You cant let such blatant disrespect go unpunished, what if he tries again with 1 of your younger family members.
A good stabbing would prevent him from trying it again.
Go to craigslist, it's full of psychos willing to do anything for money
Time to call that prosecutor out of retirement and into prison.
Documents the prosecutors "forgot" to turn over to the defense. I never believe that to be the case. The very idea that trained professional lawyers would "forget" the very documents that would tend to prove innocence is preposterous. Of course they did it on purpose because to a significant number of American prosecutors, winning is much more important than justice.
This kind of BS will not stop until the corrupt POS prosecutors, judges, police & jurors all over this country are held accountable. All of them should be sentenced to 21 yrs. It's just another example of why I don't care if a cop or prosecutor gets put in a ⚰️.
The prosecutor who "forgot" to hand over those documents should be the one on the foot for the bill. Forced to pay the state back, also he must spend the rest of his life, or at least 21 years in prison... And that needs to be a federal wide law! prosecutors who go out of their way to convict and obviously innocent person that they have evidence that would clear him need themselves to face the exact same punishments......
I've heard about this case somewhere berore. My recollection is that the hunters were not even on his property. They were on adjacent property near the border of his property. Also, two of his neighbors helped a man get his truck out of a ditch shortly after hearing shots. Apparently they made no connection, because this didn't come up until later. When it did, a sketch artist made a drawing from the witness description. The sketch showed a likeness resembling the serial killer.
You were wrongly imprisoned for 21 years, finally get out, you have been paid out $1050000, some goes to the attorney and all the property you owned before is now gone. That million probably isn't worth much in getting all your stuff back and getting your life back together and they still don't know who murdered those people... Those prosecutors... I don't think I need to say it.
Every time I hear about a case like this, I wonder if ANY amount of compensation is enough for those lost years. I wonder if any type of official apologies is sufficient to these victims. individuals. These cases also point out the reason why my brother was an opponent of the death penalty. He said that it was the only penalty that the state couldn’t take back if the system failed.
nothing can compensate for the nights locked down not knowing if your going to get shanked for some statement made to the wrong convict.
His name was slandered, his life was stolen. People get a couple of years for stealing millions of dollars.
@@CerebralHell "Your honor, I was convicted of murder and served over two decades. I would like ten minutes and a baseball bat to make the DA no longer a liar."
@@CerebralHell wont they outnumber you? What's stopping them from gangingup on you?
1 Million seems light for Ten Years .
Oh man, I sure hope that won't affect the pension of those detectives and prosecutors. Right? 🧐
They probably retired with full benefits
What happens when lawyers, police, politicians, even medical professionals, consider their profession a game they have to win and forget about other people. The people just become pieces in the game to be sacrificed for their career advancement. Who got hurt; the wrongfully accused/convicted, the families of the victims and the public. Who benefits, the lawyer’s career and the actual criminal that wasn’t prosecuted.
I caught some people hunting on my grandmother's property many decades ago. Nobody lived on the property. Very few people actually ever went out there. I was one of the very few that went out there. There was a house that was out there that was long since not livable and upon that was long since dried up but I caught some people out there hunting and it was 40 acres. Lots of ranches all the way around it. And they were given permission to hunt on the property by the guy that lived across the street who leased the property years before that but never paid my grandmother anything. He was supposed to pay her $200 a month for it and never paid her anything when he got caught giving people permission to hunt on that property. He came up with 600 bucks real fast and gave it to my grandmother for back rent but he was several years past the you know rental. He wasn't renting it anymore. Let's just put it that way. She was grateful to have the money and was very upset that there were people hunting on the property. They were for the most part. Pleasant. They were confused as to why this guy was giving him permission when it wasn't his property but that happens and I know this is a rare case but that's what I ran into once I have known others that ran into people that were hunting on their property and they were having a real problem with people hunting on the property and it was becoming quite a threat. The people hunting on the property weren't actively threatening them but the fact that they were on the property a lot and would run into a hunter or just out of the blue. Somebody would be shooting their direction. That was a problem. They couldn't keep the signs up but in this state all you got to do is put a fence up and that reasonably tells people they're not supposed to be on the property that also sets the boundaries of the property line very visibly and then if you catch them you have to tell them you know they they're trespassing they have to leave and as long as they leave nothing else can be done. But if a don't leave then you can get the police involved
From someone that was falsely imprisoned for a crime I never committed and who was given the town drunk as my public defender and all my witness statements got "lost" I have more and more hate for our FAKE justice system. Close to half the people in prison should have their case relooked at if not thrown out all together. This guy is luck they even let him out, there is a guy that was released by the courts but yet still behind bars years later, never let out.
His family probably gonna spend the money for him.
I truly feel sorry for these people that have not one ounce of morals, integrity, or basic human decency.
To do this to another person just for the W is disgusting.
50K needs to be adjusted based on inflation and some sort of multiplier for the number of years and perhaps wrongdoing of the prosecution
The problem in NY is, people can sue if they get hurt on your property, whether they're there legally or not. A burglar can sue the homeowner if he fslls down the stairs during a B&E. This why we're so adamant about trespassers. They coukd just be riding around on their snowmobiles and not realize they're heading towards a barbed wire fence, go through it, decapitating themselves. Now you have their families suing for wrongful death.
I don’t think the poor guy gets a million dollars. Other people have their hands out.
21 million should be the right amount
One million is NOT ENOUGH! We're on and off this planet very quickly. To have to spend 20 years of it in a cage is BS!
One of my favorite ones was, the doctor testified that her examination on June 6th found the injuries to the victim to be 2 to 3 weeks old no more than four weeks, old. The defendant writes on a yellow legal tablet, I have been incarcerated since March 19th. The public pretender puts that legal tablet in his briefcase and does not bring up that fact to the court. Do the math. Basically the doctor's testimony, clears the defendant of the charges. The defendant was sentenced to 10 years.
Ben has a firm grip on the right most sword hilt.
Prosecute the prosecutors!
I was convicted of my business being open too late (a Tavern) when police sent a confidential informant in to refuse to leave at closing time.
I called the police to remove her before time ran out, but the police arrested me instead and simply told her that she could leave.
There was no trial.
I sat there in the court room all day, and at the end of the day after everyone else had left, the judge walked up to me in the gallery and told me that the fine would be $500 and if this happened again, the fine would be $10,000.00.
I was not allowed to say anything, he did not ask if I was guilty, no questions at all, no arresting officer, and no prosecutor.
So, if the police set me up again with a false arrest, the fine would be $10K.
The same judge that refused to render a verdict in the Holyfield trial forcing the family to settle for $80,000.00 in the wrongful death of their son for carrying a Bible on a public sidewalk.
He gave all the murderous cops qualified immunity.
Other settlements in similar cases was for $13M.
Same one involved in several felonies with local police chief and officers.
Corrupt as hell.
The Jerseyville Cartel.
Judges are criminals with immunity.
What impact has shows like Law &Order had on the way prosecutors try cases? Seems like this story is right up there.
They should personally sue the prosecutor for false allegations in civil court.
You are right. Most ppl dont understand the despair felt when you know you will never see freedom again, everyone who knows you has abandoned you, and nothing you say will convince the guards that you are innocent (usually consequences follow like getting put in lockup or the psyche ward). The hoplessness and depression set in. No amount of money is worth all of that. Its really kinda disappointing he didnt get more money, at tge very least, and noone else will have a single consequence for their actions.
47k per year incarcerated; also be it’s taxed to no end! Utter failure of the Justice system.
OK, gotta make the second comment.
Steve, PLEASE teach people the responsibilities of a juror.
This is a textbook example of why capital punishment should be eliminated for all but the most heinous of crimes and guilt beyond the shadow of doubt. Certainly not for a personality the judge and jury do not like.
I'd reserve it for people who record themselves and post evidence on the internet.
Like those thug teenagers that seems stole a car and hit a bicyclist on purpose.
Those 21 years of his life lost in prison, would have been his best remaining years as a free man. He should be compensated for now being a senior.
I'm sure the IRS and the state took a HUGE chunk out of that award for taxes!!
They paid him so little after stealing so much? No justice in this country. The judge and prosecutor should face harsh penalties if not prison time for this malpratice, as well as permenantly being barred from ever participating in the legal system again. Nothing will change until these sick and twisted evil monsters are held to account.
21 years for $47,600 annually while losing your freedom? Yeah no thanks. I would never wish that upon anyone.
You are a good man. This story makes me sick.
The district attorneys should have to serve the same amount of days this man served unjustly.
How is a defendant supposed to handle a smoke screen of millions of documents handed over by the prosecution in discovery?
Just a little over $47,600 per year! And how much for SS?
The prosecutors should be taking his place in his cell.
The US injustice systems (
This case is discussed in detail on one of the seasons of the Undisclosed podcast.
No one would want to spend time in prison for any amount of money. You literally would not want to do it. If you want to know what it's like being in prison, ask anyone who's ever been in prison. They will tell you it's not fun. You're treated beneath human. The roaches in the rooms get treated better than you do. Your fed the bare minimum amount of food. You have people around you that you wouldn't want to live next door to on the best of days and your next door to them. Living next door to them. Sometimes bunking with them on the worst of days and there's no guarantee you get out. You're getting anything you're convicted. They're going to treat you as convicted in prison. They're not going to believe you're innocent. They're not paid to believe you. They're paid to keep you in there and keep you alive barely and if by chance you find somebody who's willing to go to bat for you and fight for you to prove your innocence in court. I've heard of cases where somebody said yeah they're innocent. The judge said yeah they're innocent but they can't get out of prison. Or yeah they're innocent but then the prosecutor wants to try them again because well maybe we can get a conviction a second time and sometimes they do. You're innocence means nothing to anyone but you and if you're on for wrong charges and if you want to know what that means, look it up. You're going to have a really hard time in there this isn't like a game show where I spend four days in this haunted house and you get a million dollars. This is surrender your life forever and never get anything. It's not a game this country's full of people that were imprison for things they didn't do. In fact, the last thing I ever heard about this last study I heard said that upwards of 40% of people in prison are in prison for things that they did not do when I was a kid that was a quarter of the people but you're innocence means nothing once you're in prison and they're going to treat you like that
Judges need to start throwing any case that lacks physical evidence out, and the prosecutors fined and disciplined for it.
Now watch the state counter-sue for "room and board"!
Tim Masters was imprisoned in Colorado. I entered the Colorado prison system just as his case was getting overturned, and I remember you couldn't throw a rock without hitting someone who had extorted him, kicked his ass, or knew someone who had done one or both of those. He wasn't just convicted of "some crime that he didn't do," he was convicted of sexually mutilating a woman to death, which of course made him one of the worst possible types of offenders in the eyes of his fellow inmates. Prison gang members who live by the convict code don't care that you might not be guilty, and in fact there's no reasoning that point to them because they're too dumb to properly question things anyway. Furthermore, Tim Masters didn't get to progress to any low-security facilities due to the severity of his conviction, which meant that he was guaranteed to endure his abuse for a solid decade with no breaks.
So if anyone honestly believes they could just go to prison for ten years and quietly wait out the clock for an easy ten million dollars, I promise you that you CAN'T. That dude's traumatized for the rest of his life.
Why was this guy ever indicted who is picking the grand jury a bunch of prosecutors?
I think some people Overlook the fact that he may have been compromised then beaten in prison.
$1,000,000 is a slap in the face
$1,000,000 is a pittance, an insult.
Here in West Virginia, we have purple paint. We have a law that if you ANYTHING painted purple, a tree, a stick or pipe driven into the ground, a boulder, an abandoned car, ANYTHING, it has the same force of law as a posted sign nailed to a tree.
This negates the defense that some trespasser didn't know how to read.
Steve,
This makes me sick!
What a travesty of justice and the compensation???
What is 20 years of your life worth. Really!!!
Rik Spector
That's chump change. Even the guy that got 10 million was barely compensated IMO. His attorney "Wolfgang" should be embarrassed over this. Unless there's other methods of collecting more as time goes on, this guy got ripped off beyond belief. Sure, he's "free" and maybe has 750K (before taxes, because he'll get raped on those too) so he'll be left with 350K if he's lucky. Injustice at its finest.
Depends if the money award is allowed to be taxed or not I guess. No idea about how it'd be done in the USA.