Connecticut agrees to a $25 million settlement in the Henry Lee evidence fabrication case
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) Connecticuts 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 victims 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.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/20/connecticut-settlement-wrongful-conviction-henry-lee-evidence