DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit man who spent decades in prison for murder because of a single hair is seeking millions of dollars now that his conviction has been thrown out.
Ledura Watkins was released in June after prosecutors said hair evidence in the 1970s was flawed based on current FBI standards.
He recently filed a lawsuit seeking $168 million, including $2 million for each of his nearly 42 years behind bars.
Watkins was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1975 shooting death of a teacher during a robbery. The 61-year-old Watkins is suing police and a prosecutor who worked the case decades ago.
Police lab analysts tied him to the crime based on a single hair found at the scene. Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School said it was a “subjective opinion.”
- Posted December 13, 2017
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Man convicted on single hair evidence sues after exoneration
headlines Macomb
headlines National
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Judge accused of using ‘game or jail’ tactic, asserting abuse victims get ‘Super Bowl’ neurochemicals
- Prosecutor gets suspension for invading jury’s ‘inner sanctum’
- Lateral hiring bounced back in 2024, especially for associates in BigLaw, new NALP report says
- Refugee ban can’t be enforced against those who received conditional approval, 9th Circuit says
- ABA, more than 50 bar associations condemn ‘government actions that seek to twist the scales of justice’
