They will give a million to a man who spent 31 years in prison for a crime he did not commit

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland officials on Wednesday approved paying more than $3 million in compensation to a Baltimore man who spent 31 years in prison, wrongfully convicted of murder.

Governor Wes Moore apologized to Gary Washington at a Board of Public Works meeting, where the compensation was approved.

“On behalf of the entire state, I apologize for the failure of the justice system,” Moore said, adding that while no amount can compensate for injustice, he prayed that the state could provide compensation “in a way that their family deserves.”

Washington was 25 years old and a recent father when he was convicted in 1987 of first-degree murder and a firearm offense in the shooting death of Faheem Ali the previous year.

No physical evidence linked him to the murder, according to Moore, and several witnesses said he was not the shooter. Additionally, several people testified to his whereabouts at the exact time the crime was committed, Moore said.

“The prosecution’s key witness at trial, then 12 years old, later recanted his identification of Mr. Washington as the killer, saying he had been manipulated by police to send Mr. Washington to prison,” he said. the Democratic governor.

Washington, now 63, was freed in October 2018, months after his convictions were overturned in Baltimore City Circuit Court. In January 2019, the Baltimore state attorney’s office dismissed the charges.

An administrative law judge found that under state law, Washington is entitled to $94,991, or the current median household income in Maryland, for each of the 31 years he wrongfully spent in prison.

In addition to receiving nearly $3 million for wrongful confinement, he will get more than $89,000 to resolve housing benefit claims.