In a landmark decision that marks one of the United States' largest awards ever for wrongful convictions, a federal jury has ordered a $120 million payout to two men, John Fulton and Anthony Mitchell. Each man is set to receive $60 million for the 16 years they unjustly spent behind bars after a falsely convicted murder in 2003, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Arrested as teenagers, the case against Fulton and Mitchell lacked physical evidence or eyewitnesses connecting them to the crime.
Despite the void of concrete evidence, both men were sentenced to 31 years in prison in 2006 for the murder of Christopher Collazo. It wasn't until 2019 that their convictions were vacated by Judge Lawrence Flood, leading to subsequently dropped charges by the state's attorney's office. Following the exoneration, Fulton and Mitchell filed a lawsuit against the city and county in May 2020, naming at least 17 CPD and Cook County state's attorney employees as defendants. During an emotional news conference, Fulton, flanked by his family, recounted the grueling 100 hours of interrogation he suffered, stating, "Justice is finally here," ABC7 reported.
The Chicago Police Department, when questioned, deferred comments to city officials who've yet to respond to requests for comments. Meanwhile, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office declined to comment. Fulton and his lawyers took the opportunity to emphasize the need for investigations into the operations of the officers and detectives who, they claim, coerced their confessions. Fulton vowed to aid in the liberation of others who have been similarly incarcerated on the basis of wrongful accusations.
On the night of March 10, 2003, the crime that upended Fulton and Mitchell's lives manifested when a 911 call brought police to a burning body in Back of the Yards, Chicago. Although a caller reported seeing two men near the site, no definitive link was made to the defendants. Moreover, it was revealed that an acquaintance initially unrelated to the murder was coerced by police through threats and manipulation into falsely implicating the accused. "They can't just close a case to close a case," said John Loevy, one of the attorneys for Fulton and Mitchell, underscoring the consequences of the prioritization of closure over truth, as recounted by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The city of Chicago has indicated its intention to appeal the verdict. No further information about the appeals process was provided at the time of reporting.
