A Black man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 24 years in prison was awarded a $17.5 million settlement from the city of New York on Nov. 16.
George Bell was wrongfully convicted in 1999 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was wrongly convicted along with two other Black men — Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt — for the 1996 murder of Ira Epstein, the owner of a check-cashing establishment in East Elmhurst, New York.
The men were also convicted of killing Charles Davis, an off-duty cop who provided security for the establishment. However, the convictions were overturned in 2021.
New York Supreme Court Appellate Division judge Joseph A. Zayas threw out the three men’s convictions and condemned the prosecutors on the case for withholding evidence that cast doubt on their guilt and pointed to other suspects. Zayas also noted that prosecutors made false statements during the trial.
“These three defendants were undoubtedly wronged by the district attorney’s office’s misconduct,” wrote the judge, adding that the prosecutors “completely abdicated its truth-seeking role in these cases.”
According to The New York Times, Bell’s attorney, Richard Emery, says the settlement is the highest sum New York City has ever paid for a wrongful conviction. Emery also noted that his client had been facing the death penalty for the capital case.
“It recognizes the horrible suffering that a young, innocent man went through facing the death penalty for three years and life without parole for 21 more,” said Emery.
Emery also told the Amsterdam News that the settlement reflected the torture Bell endured.
“Recognition from this settlement that George’s torture was unimaginably severe and horrifying vindicates him and his never-ending quest for justice.”
Bell, Bolt and Johnson were exonerated after the District Attorney in Queens, Melinda Katz, created a conviction integrity unit to research past cases after she was elected in 2019.
Bell was also awarded $4.4 million from New York state for the wrongful conviction. Bell and Johnson confessed to the crime after being threatened by law enforcement and recanted later, while Bolt always maintained his innocence.
One of the detectives on the case, Louis Pia, reportedly tore one of Bell’s braids from his scalp during his interrogation while saying he would “put him in the f—ing hospital.” Pia allegedly pressed a hockey stick against the then-19-year-old’s neck and threatened to use his head as a hockey puck.”
After Bell asked if the law enforcement officers’ tactics were police brutality, Detective Richard Sica allegedly said, “No, this is how we get things done,” according to the lawsuit.
The officers also allegedly grabbed, choked and deprived Johnson of sleep to get him to confess.
“They took advantage of my mental state,” Johnson told CBS News. “Their tactic was just to keep me up until I was just that mentally fatigued that I was perplexed,” he said, adding that the officers would bang on the table as soon as he drifted off.
Lawsuits for Bolt’s and Johnson’s cases are still pending.
