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$13.6M Damages For Wrongful Conviction

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 01:18:16 PM EST
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by TChris

U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zobel awarded damages of $13.6 million to Eric Sarsfield, who spent about a decade in prison for a rape he didn't commit.

In her three-page decision, Judge Zobel said Mr. Sarsfield's problems with alcohol and drugs before his wrongful imprisonment worsened and his "social and communal life has been shredded." She said that the phobia and panic disorders he suffers from are the direct result of his incarceration.

The award includes a $2 million settlement that Sarsfield received from Marlboro, Massachusetts. Sarsfield's lawyer fears that the rest of the award may be uncollectable.

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    $13.6M Damages For Wrongful Conviction | 3 comments (3 topical)
    Re: $13.6M Damages For Wrongful Conviction (none / 0) (#2)
    by cpinva on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 12:07:36 AM EST
    LWW, how many years have you spent in prison, having been wrongfully convicted, of a crime you didn't commit? just askin' one thing i am a bit confused by: how did he continue to be an alcoholic while incarcerated? or was he dry while in jail, and picked it up again upon his initial release?

    Re: $13.6M Damages For Wrongful Conviction (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:21:26 AM EST
    lww, note that Sarsfield has only recieved a 2 million payout on this 13.6 million judgement. And yeah, I personally don't think that the .5 million or so of that he'll see after legal fees and taxes begins to make up for 10 years of wrongful imprisonment. You know, just maybe the lawyer's "fears" stem from the realization that her client is likely going to get screwed again. I mean, if she really was only about the money, there's many legal careers that provide more income than civil rights litigation.

    Re: $13.6M Damages For Wrongful Conviction (none / 0) (#4)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 11:42:43 AM EST
    Good point anon. Lawyers in it for the money chase ambulances...not wrongfully convicted persons. Those lawyers are in it for the justice, imo. I'd bet if the State of Mass. needed funds to build a new prison they'd find them, but to make right a ten year old wrong they cry poverty. Typical.

    $13.6M Damages For Wrongful Conviction | 3 comments (3 topical)