USA: Brothers arrested in 1983 receive high compensation
For more than three decades, two brothers in the United States were unjustly behind bars, and now they are receiving $ 84 million in compensation. A North Carolina jury awarded Henry McCollum and Leon Brown $ 1 million each for every year spent in prison plus a $ 13 million fine, according to the media. In addition, according to reports, the Robeson District Sheriff's office had separately agreed to a payment of $ 9 million. This gives them the equivalent of 69 million euros.
The half-brothers were arrested as teenagers for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in 1983 and later sentenced to death. They had made confessions at the time and later revoked them. In the 1990s, Brown's sentence was commuted to life. In 2014, a DNA test helped both of them to freedom. At the scene of the crime, traces had been found that led to another man. After their release, the two black brothers were reported to have launched a federal civil lawsuit against law enforcement agencies. dpa
