The Springfield City Council has voted to give $3.37 million to a man who was wrongfully convicted in 1985 on rape charges.
George Perrot was released from prison in 2016 — after more than 30 years in prison — when a judge determined the evidence against him was faulty. He later filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Springfield, resulting in the settlement vote this week.
Radha Natarajan is with the New England Innocence Project, which works with exonorees such as Perrot, although it does not represent him.
"I don't think anybody would accept $3.3 million to go through what George went through. So in that sense, it feels really difficult to feel like this is a win on the one hand," said Natarajan. "And on the other hand, the legal system has so many barriers and I'm glad that he has something rather than nothing."
Springfield's solicitor said the settlement must still be finalized and submitted to a federal court in Boston.
