Michigan man who wrongfully spent 45 years in prison will get $1.5 million from the state
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan man who spent 45 years in prison before he was exonerated of murder will receive $1.5 million from the state, the attorney general's office said Friday.
Richard Phillips, 73, was exonerated in 2018, becoming the longest-serving U.S. inmate to be cleared. He's been selling his prison paintings to raise money while waiting to learn whether he would be compensated under a Michigan law that pays the wrongly convicted.
"We have an obligation to provide compassionate compensation to these men for the harm they suffered," Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement.
Her office agreed to pay $780,000 to Neal Redick, who served nearly 16 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct in Genesee County. The complainant recanted, and the conviction was thrown out in 2007.
Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/21/michigan-exoneration-richard-phillips/3750674002/