Connecticut agrees to a $25 million settlement in the Henry Lee evidence fabrication case

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Connecticut agrees to a $25 million settlement in the Henry Lee evidence fabrication case

BY PAT EATON-ROBB
Updated 11:33 AM EDT, September 20, 2023

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s attorney general has agreed to a $25.2 million settlement with two men who spent decades in prison for murder, based partly on evidence presented by famed forensic scientist Henry Lee that a judge later found was fabricated.

Ralph “Ricky” Birch and Shawn Henning were convicted in the Dec. 1, 1985, slaying of Everett Carr, after Lee testified there were stains consistent with blood on a towel found in the 65-year-old victim’s home in New Milford, 55 miles (88 kilometers) southwest of Hartford.

A judge vacated the felony murder convictions in 2020, after testing found the towel was free of blood. The two men filed a federal wrongful conviction lawsuit against Lee, eight police investigators and the town of New Milford.

U.S. District Court Judge Victor Bolden ruled in July that there was no evidence Lee ever conducted any blood tests on the towel, and a summary judgement was issued against him.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/20/connecticut-settlement-wrongful-conviction-henry-lee-evidence

[republianmushroom]

1. Good