Two men who were wrongfully convicted of murder and then spent decades behind bars have been awarded a combined $24million in compensation.
Los Angeles City Council have awarded the payout to Kash Register and Bruce Lisker, who were both suing the city for being convicted of crimes they didn’t commit citing bungling police investigations.
The council voted to pay $16.7million to Register and $7.6million to Lisker, who had filed a unrelated but similar lawsuit.
City Councilman Paul Krekorian defended the payouts saying the move was the right thing to do and will save taxpayers’ money in the long run.
Register, who has always maintained his innocence, served over 34 years in jail for the shooting of 78-year-old Jack Sasson at his home in west LA in 1979.
In 2013, a judge overturned his conviction, saying police ignored the sister of the sole eyewitness to the killing, who said the woman was lying.
After learning of his payout, Register said in a statement: ‘I can’t get these 34 years back, but I hope my case can help make things, better for other, through improving the way police get identifications or other reforms.
His attorney, Nick Brustin added: ‘The City of Los Angeles really stepped up and did the right thing here.
‘They recognized that Kash was the victim of a horrible injustice, and that if a jury saw the evidence of misconduct that led to his wrongful conviction, the award could easily have been several times greater.’
