Boston's recent settlements are especially notable, because successfully proving liability for a civil rights violation is unusual in these types of cases, says Howard Friedman, the attorney who represented Miller. A similar federal suit brought by Donnell Johnson, who served six years for the murder of nine-year-old Jermaine Goffigan before being exonerated, was unsuccessful; a judge blamed BPD detectives for withholding information, but ruled that the actions did not rise to the level of willful violation of Johnson’s civil rights. And just this week, an Illinois jury decided against a wrongfully convicted man in his civil lawsuit, even though he spent 27 years in prison before being DNA evidence led to his pardon.
On the Web
David S. Bernstein's Boston homicide coverage: www.thephoenix.com/homicide/
Related:
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Stephan Cowans's wrongful conviction cost Boston taxpayers $3.2 million.
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Mistakes by Boston city workers — especially the police — have cost the city more than $50 million over the past four years. The breakdown: Inside the "Oops" fund. By David S. Bernstein Among the uninsured: How other cities handle their mistakes. By David S. Bernstein
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Anyone who watches police dramas such as Law & Order or CSI might get the idea that cops from time to time stretch the envelope.
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When Kathleen O’Toole served as Boston police commissioner, from early 2004 through mid 2006, she and Mayor Thomas Menino seemed in constant denial of the spiraling violence and shocking police scandals that were roiling the city.
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