An innocent man who incorrectly spent over 20 years in prison for murder was awarded $6.4 million from New York City in an out of court settlement.
In 1990, David Ranta was falsely convicted for murdering rabbi Chaskel Werzberger of Williamsburg during a robbery attempt gone wrong. Ranta, who always maintained his innocence, was released from prison last March after an investigation proved that Det. Louis Scarcella had horrendously mishandled the case. On his second day of freedom after 23 years of incarceration, Ranta suffered a heart attack.
Though Ranta filed a $150 million claim, his attorney, Pierre Sussman, told the New York Times that he was satisfied. "While no amount of money could ever compensate David for the 23 years that were taken away from him, this settlement allows him the stability to continue to put his life back together," Sussman said.
[via New York Times and Gothamist]
