$6M Settlement for Man Acquitted After 24 Years in Prison

NEW YORK (AP) —

Officials say a man has accepted a $6 million settlement in a federal lawsuit he filed after spending 24 years in prison for a 1989 New York City slaying before being retried and acquitted.

The New York Daily News reported Tuesday that the city says it determined the settlement with Derrick Deacon was fair and in its best interests.

Deacon was convicted in the shooting death of a teenager during a robbery in a Queens apartment complex. He was acquitted in a 2013 retrial after a witness recanted and an FBI cooperator identified a different man as the shooter.

Deacon’s lawyer, Glenn Garber, says the settlement is “some level of redemption and compensation” for his client’s suffering.

Deacon also received $3.9 million in a settlement with the state.

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