JAY STREET (AP) — The City of New York has agreed to pay $340,000 to an autistic man who spent a year in jail for a killing he didn't commit.
Ozem Goldwire, of Brooklyn, was jailed on charges that he murdered his sister in 2006. His lawyers said police browbeat him into signing a false confession.
Kings County Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach threw out the charges against Goldwire, and prosecutors ultimately decided that Goldwire was innocent and let him go, but he lost a year of his life. The killing is still unsolved.
Goldwire's lawyers said in a lawsuit that he had maintained his innocence over 21 hours of rough interrogation. They said he finally signed a confession after detectives told him it was the only way they would let him leave.
The city's legal department called the situation was "unfortunate," but said police acted appropriately.
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net