The City of Detroit is paying a $5.8 million legal settlement to a man who spent 15 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. The agreement, approved by the Detroit City Council, will bring a conclusion to a 2018 lawsuit filed by Detroiter Aaron Salter.

Wrongful Conviction

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office determined that a case of mistaken identity led to Salter’s conviction in the 2003 shooting death of Willie Thomas. Months after the prosecutor’s ruling, Salter filed a $75 million lawsuit against the city and a Detroit Police Department detective on claims that evidence in the case had been fabricated.

When Salter’s conviction was voided, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy issued a statement, saying that “the system failed him” and “nothing I can say will bring back the years of his life spent in prison.” Salter was 21 when he was convicted in December 2003. He was released on August 15, 2018, on his 36th birthday.

Settlement and Aftermath

“$5.8 million is not even enough to restore him or to repay him for being in jail 15 years of his life,” Detroit City Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway said of the proposed settlement during a July 8 Internal Operations Standing Committee meeting. Salter’s attorney, Wolf Mueller, told BridgeDetroit that the council’s decision to settle was a good one.

“Nothing, including any amount of money, can restore the years lost for anybody who has been wrongfully convicted. This has helped him be able to start fresh and move on and put this all – as much as he can – behind him,” he said. Mueller said that Salter is now helping other wrongfully convicted individuals acclimate back into society with housing and other benefits.

Salter’s multi-million-dollar settlement is the second in recent months approved by the council in connection with a wrongful conviction case. In April, the council authorized a $4 million payout for LaVone Hill, who spent 22 years in prison on a wrongful conviction.

Original reporting: BridgeDetroit — read the source article.