Kansas Man Accused of Murder Receives $1.5M; Declared Innocent After 23 Years Behind Bars

Lamonte McIntyre, who was accused of a double murder that he did not commit, spent 23 years behind bars but was awarded $1.5 million on Monday after winning his wrongful conviction lawsuit against the state. He also received a certificate of innocence from Shawnee County District Judge Teresa L. Watson.

McIntyre was sentenced to serve “two consecutive life terms in prison,” as reported by Fox News.

“He was freed in 2017 after a local prosecutor asked the court to vacate his convictions and to drop all charges, calling his case an example of ‘manifest injustice,’” said the report. He was arrested on April 15, 1994 at 17 years old. Two men were fatally shot while sitting in a parked car in Kansas. The two men were Doniel Quinn, 21, and Donald Ewing, 34. Quinn was pronounced dead at the scene while Ewing was brought to the hospital where he later died.

https://twitter.com/Ricardo28440892/status/1232819659818381313

According to Fox News, no physical evidence tied McIntyre to the crime, but two eyewitnesses identified him as the shooter.

“Today, Lamonte McIntyre has been declared, finally and conclusively, a completely innocent man,” his attorney, Cheryl Pilate said in an emailed statement, as reported by The Associated Press. “That long-overdue recognition, along with the statutory payment and other benefits, will help lighten a bit the heavy load he has carried. Lamonte is grateful for the benefits of the compensation statute, but he knows his fight for justice is far from over.”

His family is going for a separate federal lawsuit against the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, as well as the individual officers whom they contend are responsible for the 23 years that McIntyre has lost.

“I’m all right. I’m happy, you know,” McIntyre told reporters after his 2017 release. “I’m here thanking God. I’m thanking everybody who supported me and been here for me. It feels good. I feel good. I’m happy.”