A US jury has granted $50 million in damages to Marcel Brown, a 34-year-old man wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for nearly 10 years, his legal team announced on Tuesday.
The federal jury in Chicago reached its decision on Monday, marking the largest sum ever awarded to a single individual in a wrongful conviction case in US history, according to Brown’s attorneys at Loevy & Loevy.
Brown was initially arrested and sentenced to 35 years in prison for allegedly participating in the 2008 murder of a 19-year-old. However, his conviction was overturned in 2018 after new evidence revealed that his confession had been obtained illegally.
Loevy & Loevy claimed that Chicago police subjected Brown to over 30 hours of relentless interrogation, denied him food and sleep, and ignored his requests for a phone call. The jury unanimously concluded that the police coerced his confession and fabricated evidence.
The jury awarded $10 million for the period leading up to his conviction and $40 million for his time spent in prison and the aftermath.
“Justice was finally served for me and my family today,” Brown said following the court’s ruling.