After 32 years in jail, wrongfully convicted man wins $2.9 million in compensation
After spending 32 years behind bars, John Huffington was awarded $2.9 million in compensation from the state of Maryland for his wrongful conviction.
Huffington obtained a government pardon in January from Larry Hogan, then the governor of Maryland. Citing bad procedural practice, the former governor granted a full pardon of innocence to Harford, who in 1981 was convicted of double murder and has been on death row for 10 years.
On Wednesday, the Maryland State Board of Public Works, made up of Governor Wes Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Treasurer Dereck Davisle, awarded Huffington the compensation package.
“They have robbed him of all that time that he spent away from his family and loved ones. They stole vacations, birthdays, achievements, opportunities (…) injustice, over and over again,” Moore said in an official apology to Huffington.
Moore highlighted the work Huffington has done to point out the flaws in the American criminal justice system. Huffington has given speeches and even published a book about her experience.
“John has become a friend,” Moore said. “I am grateful not only that he is willing to share his story, but that he has been willing to take his pain and turn it into service.”
Since his release, Huffington has worked as a manager at Second Chance, a nonprofit organization that strives to help vulnerable people find jobs.
Despite having defended his innocence from the beginning, Huffington was convicted for the sake of a hair found at the crime scene, which according to authorities at the time, belonged to Huffington.
After the Washington Post released an FBI report in 2011 showing that the hair used to convict Huffington was not reliable evidence, substantial doubts were raised about Huffington’s conviction.
This report, originally written in 1999, was illegally withheld by State’s Attorney Juseph Cassilly, who did not share the report with Huffington’s attorneys. In 2021, the Maryland Supreme Court voted unanimously to disbar Cassilly for concealing exculpatory evidence.
