COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Three men wrongfully imprisoned for murder for nearly 20 years will split a wrongful-conviction payment of $1.5 million from the state of Ohio.
Cleveland.com reports the state Board of Control this week authorized the payment to be split among Eugene Johnson, Laurese Glover, and Derrick Wheatt. The East Cleveland men were convicted as teenagers of the 1995 shooting death of Clifton Hudson Jr.
A judge overturned their convictions and released them from prison in 2015 based on new evidence and her finding that a former Cuyahoga County prosecutor "maliciously inserted himself into a criminal proceeding." The charges were dropped when prosecutors decided not to pursue another trial.
The state wrongful-conviction payments are separate from lawsuits the men are pursuing against the police and prosecutors who investigated and convicted them.
