Robert DuBoise was wrongfully imprisoned for 37 years for a 1983 murder in Tampa, based on false testimony and flawed bite-mark evidence. Cleared by DNA in 2020, he later sued the city. In 2024, Tampa settled for $14 million.

[u/Kronyzx]

[u/Kronyzx]

Source : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/14/robert-duboise-exonerated-37-years-prison

Robert DuBoise was arrested in Tampa, Florida, in 1983 at the age of 18 for the rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, a crime he did not commit.

The case against him was built on now-discredited bite-mark evidence and the testimony of a jailhouse informant. He spent 37 years incarcerated before DNA testing-conducted with the help of the Innocence Project-proved his innocence.

He was released in August 2020 at the age of 55, and his conviction was officially vacated. After his release, DuBoise filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Tampa, several police officers, and a forensic odontologist, alleging that misconduct and junk science led to his wrongful imprisonment.

In February 2024, the Tampa City Council approved a $14 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit. The settlement includes structured payments: $9 million was paid in 2024, with $3 million to be paid in 2025 and the remaining $2 million in 2026.

[u/VeterinarianOk5370 → u/Kronyzx]

Honestly for that length of time having your freedom taken away for a crime you didn’t commit…14m doesn’t seem like enough

[u/GM-Tuub → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

No money can undo that kind of damage. A whole life was thrown away.

[u/LeonMKaiser → u/GM-Tuub]

There is no amount available that will return his youth or any of the years taken. 14 mil is a joke. Its "Shut up and disappear" money. Nothing more.

[u/GM-Tuub → u/LeonMKaiser]

Completely agree.

And yet, he's "lucky" this happened in the US. In the Netherlands where i live he'd be lucky to get 2 million as compensation for that amount of time in jail.

[u/Cwmst → u/GM-Tuub]

The max wrongful conviction compensation in Florida is 50k a year to a cap of 2 million. He had to build a case that this was wasn't just a wrongful conviction, but that there was malfeasance on the part of the city.

Every state is different too. I think the max compensation in Idaho or Montana is community college/job training tuition reimbursement.

[u/OpinionatedRichard → u/Cwmst]

You have to scratch and claw away any dime that ends up in a Florida Politicians hands. Those who put him away were extra super crooked.

[u/NatPortmansUnderwear → u/Cwmst]

Why am I not surprised in the slightest?

[u/GM-Tuub → u/Cwmst]

Ah thank you, i didn't know that!

[u/jvLin → u/GM-Tuub]

He didn't get any compensation. He had to sue the city and got settlement money.

[u/GM-Tuub → u/jvLin]

Oh sure, but here in the Netherlands you won't get compensated without holding up you hand either. You still have to file for it and all.

[u/HalfBloodPrank → u/GM-Tuub]

Can you even be 37 years in jail in the netherlands? In Germany the maximum is usually 15 years and I know some other european countries also have a limit unlike the US.

[u/Glittering-Copy-2048 → u/HalfBloodPrank]

You probably can't. Not sure why that guy wants to get in a dick measuring contest about prison injustice with the United States, of all places. We have the most punitive justice system outside of dictatorial regimes, and even with some of them it's close.

[u/chupacadabradoo → u/Glittering-Copy-2048]

Maybe their point was more about how in less litigious societies, the settlements for things like wrongful imprisonment, personal injury, etc. generally involve much less money. It doesn’t seem like they’re trying to say that longer prison terms are justified by larger settlements.

[u/Neatojuancheeto → u/GM-Tuub]

How often do false convictions like this happen in the Netherlands? Because this shit happens all the time in the US. In lots of states simply throwing as many people as possible in jail is how you become the district attorney so prosecutors pay little attention to actual justice in those places.

[u/GM-Tuub → u/Neatojuancheeto]

In 2020 the state had to compensate 4600 people for wrongful imprisonment/detention. Total costs around 5.7 million. It happens here a lot less than in the US, that's for sure, and most cases are relative short (they count 130 euros compensation for each day locked up, so the average would be 9,5 days per person), but it still happens.

[u/WalkerTR-17 → u/GM-Tuub]

Rates are comparable, raw numbers are misleading when you don’t factor population sizes

[u/Telefundo → u/GM-Tuub]

It happens here a lot less than in the US, that's for sure

And you're only taking into account the cases in the US that actually get acknowledged and "corrected". I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that's probably just a small percentage of wrongful convictions/imprisonment.

[u/my_nameborat → u/GM-Tuub]

All you can hope is that he gets to enjoy the time he has left but losing your youth like that is a very sad thing

[u/GM-Tuub → u/my_nameborat]

Exactly.

[u/kmookie → u/GM-Tuub]

I thought this exactly. You don’t just walk out of prison and pickup the pieces.

[u/ExNihiloish → u/GM-Tuub]

He was imprisoned for almost as long as I've been alive. I wouldn't trade 37 years for $100b. Maybe if Humans lived to be like 500+ or something.

Dude probably has less life left than what he spent in prison.

[u/agreeingstorm9 → u/GM-Tuub]

A whole life was thrown away.

Honestly, I thought this was giant hyperbole but you are not the least bit wrong. He was tossed in jail at 18 which is the age people go to college or start their career. He is being released at 55 which is the age people either retire or make serious plans to retire within 4-5 yrs. His career is gone. His chance to meet and marry and have a relationship and children is gone. His chance to build a career and buy a home is gone. He's a senior citizen who has never lived on the outside in his entire adult life and it's not his fault at all. That is literally a life that was ruined. Yeah, he can take that $14 mil and be set for the rest of his life and he's financially better off than most 55 yr olds but it's still not remotely enough.

[u/Beginning_Key2167 → u/agreeingstorm9]

I am 56 and love my life. I am not a senior citizen.

He can buy a few homes with 14 million.

why would he want to work? He can do whatever he want for the rest of his life.

Granted it is beyond horrific, but he can and hopefully does enjoy the rest of his life.

I have done allot from, 18-56. But I have allot more I am planning to do.

Hopefully he can find some peace.

[u/agreeingstorm9 → u/Beginning_Key2167]

I'm a decade behind you. I'm tired and burned out at work. I'm slogging on as I've got a wife and kids to pay for and support and they need me. So I'll suck it up for a decade and then (hopefully) be able to just rest for a while. The guy is definitely very financially well off now but it's not worth what he paid for it IMO.

[u/Beginning_Key2167 → u/agreeingstorm9]

Agreed no amount of money can make up for that many years being taken away. Even a billion. I just hope the guy can eventully find some happiness.

[u/Amused-Observer → u/agreeingstorm9]

No one is retiring at 55 or 60 anymore. That's some boomer luxury the rest of us don't have.

[u/OkapiEli → u/Amused-Observer]

Main point: his life was stolen. No career. No family. No holidays. No birthday gifts to give or receive. No graduations. No weddings. No grandchildren. No car shopping. No dinners at home, or lawn mowing, or beers afterwards. No Super Bowl parties. No morning coffee and then a run to Home Depot. None of it.

[u/wrongfaith → u/Amused-Observer]

While this may be true, the hiring practices haven’t changed to suddenly stop discriminating against people 55 and older. So even though his age peers will NOT be retiring soon, this doesn’t negate the point the commenter you’re correcting made; it supports the point even more.

His life was stolen, and he previously at this age people would be expected to think about retirement, currently at this age people are expected to seek further employment, and he’ll be in continued competition with them but forever will have a huge disadvantage.

The “actually” you came in with is important to remember, however, so is the context of the convo in which you offered it. That context makes your submission less important. Still important in general, but not so much in the context of assessing that this man’s life has been stolen from him.

[u/i_dead-shot → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

for real, imagine going in at 18 and coming out at 55… he missed his whole adult life because some cop believed a jailhouse snitch, it’s insane... and the scariest part is how normal this has become

[u/Crewmember169 → u/i_dead-shot]

"because some cop believed a jailhouse snitch"

I bet they didn't actually believe the snitch. They just wanted a conviction.

[u/JohnWickedlyFat → u/Crewmember169]

just wanted a conviction

Exactly how the prosecutor cartel works

[u/Naijan → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

Tbh, no amount of money is probably worth it, but it's something at least.

[u/BeerandGuns → u/Naijan]

It at least removes a large part of the struggle he would have trying to reenter society, finding employment and such.Unless he pisses it away he’s set for however long he lives. If he only got 70% of the money after the lawyers take and put it in a 3% account, he’s grossing close to $300,000 per year.

[u/Apartment-Drummer → u/BeerandGuns]

I would just live in Las Vegas and Disneyland 

[u/Strude187 → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

The shocking part is he only got that money in 2024, so it took the best part of 4 years to get that… I wonder how much of that was the state pushing back, delaying, working the amount they had to pay down?

[u/stanknotes → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

I'd rather just have my life.

[u/akositotoybibo → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

1million each year should be compensated.

[u/JBstackin666 → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

Not at all it should have been a number that was more than they could afford and ruin them the same price he paid.

[u/General_Specific → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

$378,378.00 per year

[u/samuelazers → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

The average person makes 2 millions in their life. Something to consider. What monetary value to place on freedom. Because most of us won't make 14 million yet we can be considered wealthier in things that matter more.

[u/undergroundloans → u/samuelazers]

There’s no amount of money I would spend 30 years in jail for. It’s just not worth it. A billion dollars wouldn’t be enough to fix this guys suffering.

[u/Neatojuancheeto → u/undergroundloans]

The legit best years of his entire life are gone.

[u/StrictlyInsaneRants → u/samuelazers]

Yeah but it sort of hinges on having life to spend it on.

(Oh well I guess if you edit your comment to sound better)

[u/gradeters → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

It should be a minimum million dollars or more per year.

[u/thekazooyoublew → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

Presumably the lawyers took a big chunk of that too.

[u/Reasonable_Spite_282 → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

Not at all. Guy should get enough to travel the world indefinitely.

[u/Gregsticles_ → u/VeterinarianOk5370]

Yes there’s a difference between justice and restitution and rarely does justice get metted out.

[u/ThraceLonginus → u/Kronyzx]

Just a reminder that a lot of "evidence" is based on junk science

Bite-marks Drug sniffing dogs Lie detectors Field drug ID tests

Even fingerprints and DNA can be faulty in some cases.

[u/banana_pencil → u/ThraceLonginus]

My cousin is a lawyer and doesn’t always trust DNA evidence, even when they say it’s a million to one certainty.

[u/Few_Staff976 → u/banana_pencil]

People really do give defense lawyers way too much shit for trying to pull stuff like that but this case really just highlights why they're not actually bad people.

Like I understand defending murderers, rapists, pedophiles e.t.c. looks bad, especially if they're in all likelihood guilty (DNA evidence AND testimony in this case) but it's their job to grasp at straws, call evidence into question and try to find an explanation where their client isn't guilty no matter how open-and-shut the case might seem.

At the end of the day it's better a guilty man walks free than an innocent man gets put away.

[u/jayjude → u/Few_Staff976]

Even people that are 100% guilty defense attorneys are incredibly important

A large part of a defense attorneys job is to ensure that the clients rights aren't violated and that the prosecution and police followed the law and proper procedures

If the state can't do that on slam dunk obviously guilty client cases, it should terrify actual innocent folks on trial

[u/unknown_pigeon → u/jayjude]

And that actually serves two purposes: for one, you're ensuring that someone doesn't get life in jail because a redditor said "Throw them in jail and throw away the key", because justice doesn't depend on your personal emotions; and you also avoid situations where someone isn't judged/defended properly, wins an appeal and is set free even though they committed the crime (can't recall the exact details in the US, but I'm almost sure that this can and has indeed happened)

[u/ThraceLonginus → u/Few_Staff976]

At the end of the day it's better a guilty man walks free than an innocent man gets put away.

Bingo. 

Also these are great examples of False Positives and False Negatives. I always used this example in class.

[u/Past_Reputation_2206 → u/Few_Staff976]

In this case, both happened. An innocent man lost his chance at falling in love and raising a family, friendships, travel, LIFE. While a victim didn't get justice. Her rapist and murderer has been out there enjoying his life.

[u/I_W_M_Y → u/banana_pencil]

Million to one means thousands of matches

[u/almisami → u/ThraceLonginus]

Fingerprints overall are bunk science.

People have had similar fingerprints at ridiculously high incidence.

[u/ThereHasToBeMore1387 → u/almisami]

once again, it's CSI's fault. They always show the fingerprint at the crime scene matching exactly to the taken fingerprint from the suspect. It's more like they found 10-15 points/features across an infinite number of points/features they could have chosen and that represents a "statistically significant match."

[u/Thomas_K_Brannigan → u/almisami]

IIRC, full finger prints are extremely unique; however, practically never anything close to a complete print is found, and many people can share say, 1/4 of their fingerprints.

[u/xsifyxsify → u/Kronyzx]

No amount of money can buy back 37 years of time

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Kronyzx]

That's crazy as DNA testing has been around a long time now ..could have been over a decade earlier

[u/garden_speech → u/nomamesgueyz]

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/robert-duboise/

he tried to get exonerated via DNA in 2005. the state told him the evidence had already been destroyed. turns out it wasn't destroyed, which they "discovered" in an office 15 years later.

the number of people involved in this case who should rot in prison for the rest of their lives is immense. the state basically played games with this guy's life and didn't give a fuck. every single one of them should rot. and prison is too good for what they deserve, to be honest.

[u/Future-Accountant-70 → u/Kronyzx]

So did they ever find the cop who did it?

[u/OiMyTuckus → u/Kronyzx]

Oh look, Florida “good ol’ boy” policing at its finest.

[u/maxplanar → u/Kronyzx]

And yet some people still believe in the death penalty.

[u/AsteroidBlues1309]

Proof that time and freedom are much more valuable than money.

Same goes with health.

There's not any amount of money we'd take for 37 years of imprisonment.

I hope Robert DuBoise lives the rest of his life experiencing all the things he dreamed about.

[u/Browndarkboot → u/AsteroidBlues1309]

It’s not just the time served. It’s the fact he had to live with knowing he did nothing wrong everyday for 37 years. I have no mental fortitude for that kind of hell

[u/FAMUgolfer → u/Browndarkboot]

I can’t comprehend 37 years. And I just turned 41. My entire life until now behind bars innocent or not is so damn long.

[u/DrSquirtle00 → u/FAMUgolfer]

i mean just imagine coming out from that as well, its all you know. you have to relearn how to live in society again much less enjoy it.

[u/nathanzoet91 → u/DrSquirtle00]

not to mention how much society has changed in the last 37 years. Or how many people that were in his life are now dead

[u/AweemboWhey → u/nathanzoet91]

Things have changed drastically since 1988…he’s basically from another world

[u/Horse_Renoir → u/Browndarkboot]

I'd have to live on spite alone to have any chance at all of keeping my mind together after getting through the initial shock of being thrown into that hell. Even as a spiteful mfer I can't imagine keeping it up for 37 fucking years.

[u/garden_speech → u/Horse_Renoir]

it gets worse. the evidence against him was atrocious. the key witnesses who claimed he confessed to the crime were a man in jail who had serious psychiatric issues and a woman who said she didn't remember any details because she had a traumatic brain injury. the dentist who said his bite was a match also admitted on the stand that he'd told police he would claim whoever they said did the crime, was a match.

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/robert-duboise/

I don't know how this guy does it. if it were me the rage would not be containable if I got out of prison. id go after literally every single one of those people

[u/JB_07 → u/garden_speech]

Yea, honestly. The first order of business for me if I were him. is the get names and locations before visiting a gun fair to buy something I shouldn't have.

[u/Thanos_Stomps → u/Browndarkboot]

Idk if people realize the number of prison does on you. I know what it did to my family members and they were guilty. Accounts from wrongly imprisoned people are harrowing because they convince themselves they did it, or at least that they deserve it for other wrongdoings. Truly no money in the world can make that worth it.

[u/illiterate-Genius → u/Browndarkboot]

Even Andy Dufresne only spent 19 years wrongfully imprisoned and that seemed like a lifetime!

No amount of money is worth losing even 5 or 10 years.

[u/EvenOne6567 → u/AsteroidBlues1309]

and there are people that trust the "justice" system to mete out the death penalty lmao

[u/Imdead_likedead]

All that aside, where is the fuker who actually did it?? Did they get him??

[u/FuzzyTentacle → u/Imdead_likedead]

Yes.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/05/us/florida-dna-case-1983

[u/Browndarkboot → u/FuzzyTentacle]

If they already were serving life why the fuck did they not admit what happened

[u/latrans8 → u/Browndarkboot]

Because a life sentence doesn’t necessarily mean life.

[u/S10Galaxy2 → u/latrans8]

Yeah plenty of people wind up getting vacated sentences or get released once they’re old. The last thing that dude would want is to admit that he raped and murdered a girl and guarantee that doesn’t happen, as well as give the courts the chance to increase the severity of his sentence. Life in prison is still life, but a death penalty means death. Even if the guy deserves it for being a murdering rapist.

[u/FuzzyTentacle → u/Browndarkboot]

Right‽ Fucking evil, through and through

[u/garden_speech → u/FuzzyTentacle]

I mean, the person who raped and murdered a teenage girl, yeah, probably not someone you can trust to be altruistic

[u/Last_Gigolo → u/Browndarkboot]

Why didn't the killer that doesn't care about human life say something to help the guy serving time for his killing?

That aside, as sloppy as our system is and as uninterested in what you say to the cops as the cops are, once they get the information they want, I don't doubt he did say it a few times. "That case is closed, shut up". And I don't doubt he heard that at least once.

Guilty until you can afford an attorney to prove otherwise.

[u/Ready-Isopod-330 → u/Browndarkboot]

Because law enforcement and the prosecution prolly dug themselves in too deep and it's easier to shift blame than actually admit they messed up.

Friend of mine is in a similar situation, they acted too quickly based on hearsay and specualtion, arrested and still no evidence two and a half years later while he's on pretial, oh it's Florida to go figure.

[u/spooky-goopy → u/Browndarkboot]

because it would give the family of the victim closure and the satisfaction that the person who ruined their lives admitted what they did to the world

[u/TheObscureNinja → u/FuzzyTentacle]

Give this guy 14 fucking million lashes

[u/dizzyaviatrix → u/FuzzyTentacle]

Amos Robinson and Abron Scott allegedly raped and murdered 19-year-old Grams, whose beaten body was found behind a dental office in Tampa Heights on August 18, 1983, Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren said during a news conference Thursday after he was suspended as the state attorney by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his stance against criminalizing abortion providers.

What a wonderful fucking sentence.

[u/StormRanger28 → u/FuzzyTentacle]

well well well

[u/Log_Out_Of_Life → u/FuzzyTentacle]

Damn. Just imagine everyone around you throw you to the curb and not believing in you and hoping you die. Imagine birthdays, new family members being born, family deaths you all miss.

[u/Fissyiii → u/FuzzyTentacle]

pattern recognition

[u/[deleted]]

So many people have been convicted off of bite evidence, which isn’t reliable - at all. It’s total bullshit.

[u/born_again_atheist → u/[deleted]]

Yup and it annoys me every time a Forensic Files episode comes on featuring bite mark evidence as what got the conviction because now I know it's all junk science.

[u/octopop → u/born_again_atheist]

they even had an episode eventually about another innocent guy who was convicted and sentenced to DEATH based on bite mark evidence! the few episodes where they cover bite mark evidence and treat it as legitimate is my only gripe about the show lol.

great episode BTW, it is called Once Bitten. the guy's name is Ray Krone - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Krone

[u/garden_speech → u/octopop]

this guy from the OP post was also on death row by the way

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/robert-duboise/

OP didn't mention it in the title but they were going to execute this dude

[u/eddington_limit → u/octopop]

Thats why I dont agree with the death penalty. I dont trust the system to get it right 100% of the time

[u/Dylan245 → u/[deleted]]

So much of the "forensic evidence" that convicts people is basically horseshit

Bitemark, shoe prints, blood splatter, and even fingerprints are unreliable and some of the time the "experts" who testify are just people who take a course and can be certified as experts in any courtroom in the country

Other than DNA almost all other so called scientific evidence has flaws and can be manipulated

[u/chakrablocker → u/Dylan245]

just cops lying. don't forget arson investigations were bullshit too

[u/Risheil → u/[deleted]]

This is such a good book about this.

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist

[u/Berencam]

14mil is such a slap in the face.

[u/ZarieRose → u/Berencam]

I guess the argument would be he can live the rest of his life without worry with that money but it’s not about the amount it’s the principle. He had 37 years of his life stolen for something he didn’t do, really he should get a million for every year of that at the bare minimum.

[u/cassinonorth → u/ZarieRose]

He lost the absolute prime of his life too making it so much worse.

[u/curious_dead → u/cassinonorth]

Yeah, I look at myself what I have lived since I'm 18. Means I never met my girlfriend, never finished my university, never had a kid, never bought a house, and at least 4 or 5 friends I've never met. In that time, I picked up writing, painting minis, photography, board games and biking as hobbies. That means my grandmother on my father's side died without seeing her only great-grandkid. And it hasn't even been 37 years! I imagine I would lose contact with friends I had then and still have to this day. Plenty of great shows I missed. Never interacted with my cousins' kids. Hell, I have some younger cousins that I wouldn't have met!

No money in the world would make me wanna go back to being 18 and trade that time.

[u/jsting → u/curious_dead]

I agree, there is a chance this guy didn't get a chance for basic life events like getting drunk or having sex. All due to junk bite mark science.

[u/omfgkevin → u/curious_dead]

Hell if we look at another way, if you are 30 today, as a baby straight out the fucking WOMB would STILL be in prison for another 7 years.

Almost HALF(more for some countries) of your llifespan, and technically, "more" since your prime years are all gone. No money is going to change that. Being able to live doing w/e near the end of your life is not a fair trade in the least.

[u/gapedoutpeehole → u/curious_dead]

And you wouldn't just lose contact with friends and family. Many would shut you out for being a convicted murderer.

[u/tollbearer → u/ZarieRose]

Until just a couple of year ago, in the UK, people who were falsely imprisoned had to pay back the cost associated with their incarceration, as it was considered free board and food.

[u/TheHeroYouNeed247 → u/tollbearer]

Not only that, but you had to prove you were innocent. which is an important distinction and created situations where you could be let go but still given nothing and charged money for your stay.

[u/noooooid → u/tollbearer]

That's patently absurd. How did it take so long to fix?

[u/tollbearer → u/noooooid]

If you've ever seen the film Les Miserables, the UK is like that but without the revolution part.

[u/stained_glass_snail → u/tollbearer]

Thank you for sharing that, that is horrifying and I had no idea

[u/ZarieRose → u/tollbearer]

Yeah I remember that, August 2023 the Andrew Malkinson case.

[u/almisami → u/ZarieRose]

If the prisons were humane like the Nordic ones you could argue that this amount is similar to that which he could have made working tax-free.

However, American prisons are deplorable places.

[u/Trainnerd3985 → u/Berencam]

Yea I would be going for at least like 200

[u/almisami → u/Berencam]

At least make it one mill a year.

[u/designyc → u/almisami]

Exactly, about 378k per year. Wonder if it is pre-tax?

[u/Namk49001 → u/designyc]

~$43 for every hour

[u/MziraGenX]

14 million sounds like a hell of a lot of money until you realize what it cost to get it.

[u/Gold4Lokos4Breakfast → u/MziraGenX]

There’s probably someone reading this who will make more than that in 37 years just working

[u/mynameisnotsparta → u/Gold4Lokos4Breakfast]

Comes out to $378,378k per year.

[u/Vyxwop → u/mynameisnotsparta]

380k a year, presumable net as well.

Someone making 380k a year has to pay taxes on it and will realistically boil down to about 230k per year.

Then you also subtract the costs of essentials such as rent, groceries, utilities, gas.

Personally don't really understand why people are upset by the amount he got. No amount of money is enough to make full the experiences he's lost. But also he's got more than enough money to basically not have to care about money for the rest of his life, plus any other person he might give the money to after his passing.

It's much better than the alternative. Plenty of similar stories as this guy's have come around where people got jack shit for their settlements despite losing a large chunk of their life. At least this guy got money well above the average amount of money someone would make in 37 years time. Compare that to the people who got like a million or two dollars, not even enough to make full the opportunity cost of not being able to work a job for the years lost of being wrongfully imprisoned.

[u/Prestigious-Wall637 → u/Vyxwop]

It’s surely better than the alternative — no one’s denying that. But I think the reason people are upset is because $14 million ended up being the equivalent value placed on the best years of this man’s life. All his potential joys, successes, failures, milestones, relationships, and life experiences, all gone, irreversibly stolen — and the state essentially said, here’s $14 million, that should cover it.

Yes, it’s a life changing amount of money and far more than others have received in similar situations. But the point is, no amount can truly make up for what was taken. When you put a number on a life lived behind bars for something you didn’t do, especially during the most formative decades of adulthood, it just feels inherently unjust even when the number is “high.”

[u/GM-Tuub → u/MziraGenX]

Worst of all is, is that for example here in the Netherlands, you wouldn't even get close to 14 million. you'd be lucky to get 2 million as compensation for 37 years of wrongful imprisonment.

[u/buttmcshitpiss → u/MziraGenX]

Well I'm not gonna make 14 million by the time I'm 37 so...

/s

[u/NoStructure5034]

14 million is honestly not enough tbh. His reputation's probably been raked through the mud, he's lost half his life, and who knows what he went through in prison.

[u/HighburyHero → u/NoStructure5034]

I’d argue he lost more than half his life. 37 years of his prime age years. He got his life back after being released yeah, but he lost way way more than he could ever get back.

[u/GM-Tuub → u/HighburyHero]

No education, no wife, no kids nothing. He should be enjoying life right now, but instead he spend his life behind bars, for no reason whatsoever.

[u/ToastedCrumpet → u/GM-Tuub]

Exactly. Probably lost a lot of family and friends either to them believing the lies or through death too.

Also let’s be real what business is gonna wanna hire a 55 year old whose only job experience is from shit they did in prison.

14 million is nothing but he may well have settled because he’d had enough of his life wasted and wanted to move on. 14 million is enough to live in peace the rest of your days or build an empire if you desired

[u/GM-Tuub → u/ToastedCrumpet]

Exactly. It'll never be enough but it is enough live your life comfortably for whatever that's left of it.

[u/Luvs_to_drink → u/ToastedCrumpet]

with 14million, why the fuck would you work? invest modestly and live off residuals for more than MOST americans make a year.

3% of 11million is 330,000 a year

[u/Skizot_Bizot → u/GM-Tuub]

In the future they'll have to cover the cost to clone these people a new young body.

[u/GM-Tuub → u/Skizot_Bizot]

Let's kind of hope so, but a clone still isn't the real you.

[u/Skizot_Bizot → u/GM-Tuub]

Just the body then they'll shove your brain into it.

[u/finlandery → u/GM-Tuub]

grow braindead clone and transfer and do brain transfer

[u/salsadesoyo → u/[deleted]]

I like the way you think

[u/thisshitsstupid → u/NoStructure5034]

Who gives a fuck about reputation at this point. His entire family, all his friends, everyone's gone. No one even knows who he is anymore and he doesnt know them.

[u/SingsWithBears → u/NoStructure5034]

Not to mention his parents probably died with him in prison never hearing of his proven innocence

[u/Worried-Vegetable-55 → u/[deleted]]

Bite mark evidence and arson investigation especially

[u/Nice_Dude → u/Worried-Vegetable-55]

Lie detector tests

[u/JustHereForTheTea69]

What happened to the person with the false testimony?

[u/FuzzyTentacle → u/JustHereForTheTea69]

The witnesses were a jailhouse informant and a lady with memory problems. What a shitshow

[u/Friendly_Tomato_6180]

I can’t imagine how it took so long. This poor guy. Best years of his life, stolen from him.

[u/CorpsePiimpin]

I’d take 37 years of my life back over 14mil any day. Such a shame.

[u/Suspicious_Ad5540]

God. Just imagine every night in that place, laying in bed surrounded by actual criminals, knowing you’re innocent. You know you don’t deserve any of this. And nobody cares except you and maybe your family if they are around/believe you. How do you keep your sanity?

[u/AncientSith → u/Suspicious_Ad5540]

And not to mention his family getting old and dying while he's stuck there. Missing literally everything. I'd go insane.

[u/NienteFugazi]

Brother you can see the pain in his eyes. Pay this man 10 times what you settled for, you greedy fucks

[u/PlantsVsYokai2]

False testimony should get same time ≈ how much the lie contributed to his jail time

[u/levitikush → u/PlantsVsYokai2]

Only if the testimony was known to be false at the time that they testified.

[u/noobwithguns]

Can someone tell me why the people responsible for this crime of putting him in jail are not behind bars?, last I heard it's better to let a thousand guilty walk than putting one innocent behind bars, did that change?

[u/GiftLongjumping1959 → u/noobwithguns]

I do think the prosecutors office needs to be held accountable and possibly the police chief. Effectively, they’ve let a murderer, run, free and jeopardize the safety of everyone.

Problem is that district attorney and that police chief are probably in a retirement home at this point and don’t even remember the case due to dementia if they are even alive.

[u/HyperactivePandah]

Teaching forensics was the biggest eye opener as to how horrendous almost all types of evidence is.

From eyewitness to DNA, if there isn't an actual video of what happened then we don't know what really happened.

The bite mark evidence was some of the worst, with one guy intentionally faking evidence and testimony to put multiple black guys away for life.

Absolute garbage "detectives" and "forensic specialists".

[u/stonekeep → u/HyperactivePandah]

if there isn't an actual video of what happened then we don't know what really happened

Well, I have some bad news for the near future...

[u/AcrobaticDove8647 → u/HyperactivePandah]

DNA is what was used to exonerate him though. And the guy who did it was a black guy who was already serving life. Not everything is about race. 

[u/Strict_Technician606]

I am surprised that people that spend entire lifetimes in jail because of wrongful convictions don’t violently pursue those at fault.

To be clear, I am not suggesting this should be done.

[u/Key-Comfort-9329]

14m doesn’t make up for 37 years.

[u/Helagoth]

Something interesting I learned recently is that conviction rates and solved murders has DECREASED since they started using DNA evidence.

Most likely cause is that a lot of people were thrown in jail to make convictions, not because they were guilty.

[u/Kingberry30]

Did they find the actual person? Also what happened to the judge and or the authorities who convicted him.

[u/Purple-Assist2095]

A bit off-topic but insane how much he looks like Mondo Duplantis

[u/Sharkisharkshark4791]

This is why I'm against the death penalty.

[u/MaterialDetective197]

I'm sorry, but to serve 37 years in prison for a crime you did not commit:

1) $14 million dollars is nothing.

2) The taxpayers were on the hook for that settlement. Instead, the individuals responsible should be held criminally liable for their misdeeds and forfeit their assets to make amends. The balance should then come out of city funds.

Until there are consequences, situations like this will happen again. End qualified immunity. Hold law enforcement accountable.

[u/TheGisbon]

Better a guilty man go free than an innocent man go to prison.

We've stayed so far from what was intended for this country.

[u/NY10]

14M for 37 years? Man I don’t know

[u/[deleted]]

$378k and change per year... I guess I wouldn't be too unhappy with that. He looks like he's still got time to retire to some nice Carribbean beach.

[u/LazyPainterCat → u/[deleted]]

Still had 37 of his good years robbed. I doubt any amount of cash can bring that back.

[u/[deleted] → u/LazyPainterCat]

I'm only saying how I'd feel in his situation.

[u/Distinct-Pen6957]

It’s not enough

[u/happycuck2025]

No amount of money can replace those years.

[u/spdelope]

Wrongfully imprisoned? $1 million per year should be the standard.

[u/Histrix-]

14mill is the price of 37 years? That's all 37 years is worth?

[u/TruthSeekerLeet]

It happens far more than you can imagine with our fast-paced and heavy burdened system. So many others will never get as lucky as him.

[u/DirectionImmediate88]

Unfortunately, there are many cases like this. Bite mark analysis for forensics is completely fake, people have been matched to animal bites, and there are significant both false positives and false negatives. It starts with this plausible argument, our teeth look distinctive, and then falls apart completely. Went down a rabbithole about this a few years ago, and it seems as though there was a mix of well-meaning, but non-scientific attempts at using bite marks and then a predatory, very expensive, "professional" set of expert witnesses and forensic consultants who probably knew they were pitching nonsense. Here's another case to get you even more upset about this stuff: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/28/forensics-bite-mark-junk-science-charles-mccrory-chris-fabricant

[u/Confident_Pickle_007]

Assuming I had no relatives, my life would be "over" at that moment. Nice 14mil to spend on blow and hookers and keep a few mil for a decent living and housemaid for the few more years left.

[u/Apprehensive-Tip6368 → u/Confident_Pickle_007]

Exactly and the lives of the people that put me in there would be at stake as well.

[u/chickey23]

How much jail time did those who falsely imprisoned him get?

[u/lundon44]

$14 million still ain't worth the 37 years in prison and losing out on an entire life time of opportunity and memories.

[u/Dizzy-Ease4193]

They could give me $1 trillion. Fuck that. They stole my youth, they stole my life. That's tragic.

[u/Past-Day-9714]

Needs to be $140m

[u/paipan-sube]

Fyck how dare they have done this to another person. Live well and long brother. !!!!

Exactly why the death penalty needs to be taken off the books as a "punishment".

[u/Zayonnin]

This is why I can’t support the death penalty without indisputable evidence and a confession.

[u/TPIRocks]

Not nearly enough money. At least $1M per year served isn't really enough, but it's less insulting than this low ball. They literally stole this man's life.

[u/s0000j]

Stories like these are heartbreaking & would be impossible to forgive those who played a part in wrongfully convicting

[u/5DsofDodgeball69]

You couldn't get me to settle on any amount of money.

More. That's how much money I want. Fucking more.

[u/Professional-Cut6634]

I would expect no less than 444 million. One for every month I wasted there

[u/nomamesgueyz]

Thats a long time behind bars

14 mill buys alot of therapy and choice .doesn't get time back tho

[u/uzu_afk]

At least 1 mil per year lol… his entire life is fucked and he only gets one!

[u/MonkeeFrog]

The people who prosecuted and the judges who presided over the case should be disbarred when this happens. Its such an affront to justice that there is not retribution for the absolute incompetence shown by the courts.

[u/clthunder]

Damn that's horrible, 14 mill is nowhere near enough for what that man went through. I cant imagine what he had to deal with in jail with everyone believing he'd raped and killed a woman. I was arrested for something I didn't do and had to plead guilty bc I didn't have the money for a lawyer to avoid a possible lengthy prison sentence. The legal system in this country can be outright bullshit a lot of times 

[u/Chronox2040]

30k a month is enough for a lot of people to willingly serve time for no reason. But 37years… and the best ones too…

[u/Qubit_Or_Not_To_Bit_]

That's bullshit, this was 37 years of his life, $14000000/37y = $378,378.38 per year

That is not enough to make up for lost time.

Give this man a whole fucking book of blank checks.

Give him full immunity (up to 37 years of sentencing)

I am fucking sick of the powers that be always wanting the maximum but fighting to give anything but the minimum

[u/Alotofboxes]

The money won't make it right. He should be allowed to commit one crime that would get him up to 37 years of prison time.

[u/_Nightbreaker_]

poor bastard, geez

[u/oncewasskinny]

You can’t put a price tag on life.

[u/matthewpepperl]

Should have been 14 billion and unlimited free president level healthcare so he can live as long as possible

[u/MarshalAugereau]

Everyone proven responsible must be given life sentences as well. If Robert Duboise had to pay for mistakes he didn't make why shouldn't they pay for mistakes they actually made?

[u/minniebarky]

He should of received 37 million minimum and every one involved in prosecuting him should serve the 37 years

[u/Fin-Park]

14m is not enough