By: Associated Press//June 12, 2015//
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A jury has handed down a $1 million verdict to a man wrongfully convicted in a 1998 killing who sued the city of Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the jury returned the verdict Thursday in favor of 43-year-old William Avery in the federal civil suit. He was convicted in 2005 in the death of Maryetta Griffin, but was ordered released in 2010 when DNA evidence linked the killing to another man.
Two detectives testified during the civil trial that Avery had confessed. Avery testified that he hadn’t, and the lawsuit accused detectives of making up the statement and getting others to go along with it.
Assistant City Attorney Jan Smokowicz said city officials will review the case before deciding whether to appeal. Click here to subscribe to Wisconsin Law Journal today