New York, NY — The city of New York will pay $6.25 million to 53-year old Jonathan Fleming, a man wrongfully imprisoned for nearly 25 years for a murder he did not commit. The settlement comes more than one year after Fleming was released from prison, when a judge overturned his 1990 murder conviction and life-sentence imprisonment.
He commented, “It’s a bittersweet moment. On the same day I’m signing this settlement, I’m taking my mother off of life support. When I was in prison, my mother told me she prayed and asked God for her to live long enough to witness me getting out of prison. When I got out, she told me she asked God to please get some time with me. And, she got that.”
“Today was a day of great joy and great sadness for Jonathan Fleming,” his attorneys, Paul Callan and Martin Edelman, said.
Regarding the compensation, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, commented, “We cannot give back the time that he served, but the City of New York can offer Jonathan Fleming this compensation for the injustice that was committed against him.”
But wait there’s more
Fleming says he also wants another $25 million from the state of New York. “Now that the city has settled, I’m hoping the state will do the right thing,” Fleming said.
And he just may get it. According to state records, snce the year 2000, the New York state has paid out more than $85 million to settle 66 wrongful conviction lawsuits.
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