By Olamilekan FAWAS
A United States man who was found innocent after serving 25 years in prison was given 10 million U.S. dollars on Wednesday as compensation.
The settlement set a record for the city of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, where Anthony Wright, who was 20-years-old when the alleged crime occurred, was sentenced to life without parole for a 1991 rape and murder case.
DNA evidence discovered later proved that Wright was innocent. Innocence Project, an activist group promoting DNA evidence in criminal investigations, said in a statement that Wright was the victim of poor investigation procedures by the police, who allegedly threatened to beat Wright if he wouldn’t sign a confession written by the police.
The group said Wright now 44, is the 344th DNA exoneree in the nation.
