An innocent man who spent 35 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl has been awarded more than £1 million in compensation.
Lewis Wright, now 65, was released earlier this month after DNA tests ruled him out as the perpetrator of the 1988 attack on an 11-year-old girl in Albion, Michigan.
Mr. Wright became the prime suspect after an off-duty officer said he had seen him in the neighborhood five hours earlier.
The police claimed he confessed, but the interview was not recorded and he did not sign a confession, according to the Innocence Project at Cooley University School of Law, which is representing Mr. Wright.
The non-profit Independent Law School, which helped free nine innocent people, said police did not carry out identification checks and the victim was never asked to identify Mr Wright.
Ultimately, Mr. Wright pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
The request to withdraw his confession was rejected at the sentencing.
But he was acquitted after DNA analysis proved he was not responsible for the attack on the girl in September.
People exonerated on new evidence are eligible to receive $50,000 (£39,000) for every year they spend in a Michigan prison.
The District Attorney's Office sometimes resists paying the amount, but quickly agreed to compensate Mr. Wright.
He was paid $1.75 million (£1.37 million) in a deal approved by a judge on Wednesday.
“Nothing can compensate for 35 years in prison.”
Wright told the Associated Press news agency that he might use some of the money to buy a house and a car for his sister, Darlene Hall.
“Nothing can compensate for 35 years in a Michigan prison for something he did not commit,” his attorney, Wolf Mueller, said in a statement.
“This is the first step towards restoring Lewis’ life at the age of 65.”
Mr. Wright has been eligible for parole consideration on several occasions, starting in 2008.
But he refused to attend sex offender treatment classes — a prerequisite for his release — and remained in prison until he was exonerated by DNA evidence.
Mueller added:[Mr Wright] He said: I did not commit this crime. I don't take therapy classes.
“He cost himself several years, just by standing on principle.
“Not a lot of guys would do that.”
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But Mr Wright insisted he knew he would be exonerated by DNA evidence.
“I spent the last two months in prison with a smile on my face. Everyone thought I had something up my sleeve,” he said.
Since then, he has enjoyed spending time with his family and simple activities such as playing billiards.
The Calhoun County District Attorney has now committed to reopening the investigation in an effort to identify the person responsible for the attack.
