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A federal jury awarded $6 million to a North Carolina man earlier this month who spent 20 years in prison for wrongful murder and arson convictions.
Darryl Howard, originally sentenced to 80 years in prison for the 1991 murders of Doris Washington, 29, and her 13-year-old daughter Nishonda, walked free in 2016 after a Durham County judge vacated the sentence, citing prosecutorial misconduct.
“I am happy about the verdict, but I am kind of upset about the damages,” Howard told the News & Observer. The $6 million he says is barely enough considering his pain and suffering, “Just imagine, 23 years I stayed in prison.”
He filed a lawsuit in 2017 against Durham police detective Darryl Dowdy and the city, alleging they were responsible for his wrongful conviction.
Dowdy is now the sole defendant named in the suit. The jury found that Dowdy, who worked with the Durham Police Department for more than three decades, made up evidence that lead to Howard’s conviction.
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