Lamonte McIntyre was on Monday awarded $1.5 million (₦548,250,000) to settle a lawsuit for his wrongful conviction, the Kansas State Attorney General’s office announced in a report by CNN.
McIntyre spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he didn’t commit.
McIntyre was 17 years old when he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1994 murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn. He served 8,583 days behind bars before being released and exonerated in October 2017.
Kansas Attorney General in a statement on Monday said:
“In this case, our office worked diligently to obtain and review all available evidence, including evidence identified but not provided in the earlier judicial proceedings. 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.”
Last year, McIntyre filed a lawsuit against the state under its mistaken-conviction statute, which was passed in 2018. The law allows those who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned to seek monetary damages from the state. McIntyre testified in support of the measure before a state Senate committee in 2018.
Speaking about the monetary damages in his testimony, he said:
“The state of Kansas can’t give me back the 23 years it took from me, but it can pass this compensation law so I can start my path to a successful future.”
Since being released, Lamonte McIntyre co-founded a nonprofit, Miracle of Innocence, to help others who are wrongfully convicted. He also is the co-owner and student instructor at Headlines Barber Academy in Kansas City.
