New Haven settled its third wrongful conviction lawsuit this year, for more than $16 million.
Adam Carmon was convicted over killing an infant and paralyzing the baby’s grandmother in a 1994 shooting. But Carmon said the New Haven Police Department suppressed and fabricated evidence.
The city’s settlement amount came before Carmon’s federal civil rights lawsuit was about to head to trial. New Haven’s Mayor Justin Elicker issued a statement to the media, apologizing to Carmon.
“As mayor, I am deeply sorry for the injustice that Mr. Carmon has experienced and endured,” Elicker said. “While no amount of money can give Mr. Carmon back the nearly three decades of his life spent in prison, I hope this settlement will provide Mr. Carmon with some sense of justice and peace moving forward. I wish him and his family well.”
Carmon issued a statement through his attorneys, Kaufman, Lieb, Lebowitz & Frick. “Nothing can ever make up for the years that were taken from me, but I find some solace in the fact that they’re coming to grips with their wrongdoing,” Mr. Carmon said.
In the lawsuit, Carmon stated he was coerced by New Haven detectives into making false statements and alleged police suppressed witness statements. He was convicted in 1995, and served nearly 29 years in prison until the state of Connecticut overturned his conviction. Carmon was released in 2022 and profiled by Connecticut Public in 2023, where he discussed his challenges reintegrating into society after spending decades behind bars.
Previous reporting from Connecticut Public also showed more than a dozen people convicted in the New Haven area for crimes from the 1990s until the early 2000s, were later exonerated due to misconduct by police and prosecutors.
Vernon Horn and Marquis Jackson, who were also wrongfully convicted for crimes in New Haven, settled with the city in August.
Another man, Stefon Morant, was also wrongfully convicted in New Haven. A jury decided to award Morant $38 million, however the city of New Haven appealed in June, seeking to overturn the payout which Elicker called “beyond the pale”.
Elicker said the city will take out bonds due to the high settlement amounts.“The Board of Alders has approved one of the bonds for the two cases that we settled, around two months ago, and we will be submitting to the Board of Alders a request to approve the bonding for the most recent case involving the settlement with Mr. Carmon,” Elicker said.
Carmon’s attorney Doug Lieb said the law group was proud of the result, and Carmon’s resilience.
“But this case shows why there are no winners when police departments turn a blind eye to misconduct,” Lieb said. “Wrongfully convicted people lose precious freedom, victims are denied closure, and citizens pay the price. All these years later, we believe this settlement represents an important step toward imperfect justice.”
