The state of Kansas will pay Lamonte McIntyre $1.5 million after he was wrongly convicted and sentenced to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.
Lamonte McIntyre was just 17 years old when a court convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the 1994 murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn.
However, He ended up serving 8,583 days in prison before evidence emerged that proved his innocence and subsequently led to his release in October 2017.
In 2019, McIntyre filed a lawsuit against the state of Kansas for the wrongful conviction. His lawsuit was in accordance to a Kansas law that passed in 2018 which allows those who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned to seek monetary damages.
In an Interview with CNN McIntyre’s lawyer Cheryl A. Pilate said, “Today, Lamonte McIntyre has been declared, finally and conclusively, a completely innocent man.
“That long-overdue recognition, along with the statutory payment and other benefits, will help lighten a bit the heavy load he has carried.”
Reacting to the ruling, the Attorney General of Kansas, Derek Schmidt said: “We were ultimately able to resolve all issues, satisfy all of the statute’s requirements, and agree to this outcome so Mr McIntyre can receive the benefits to which he is entitled by law because of his mistaken conviction.”
