Illinois man wrongly imprisoned for murder wins $50 million jury award

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $50 million in damages to a suburban Chicago man who was exonerated in a murder and released from prison in 2018 after spending about 10 years behind bars. Monday’s unanimous jury verdict in favor of 34-year-old Marcel Brown of Oak Park came after a two-week trial. The Chicago Tribune reports Brown was arrested at 18 and sentenced to 35 years in prison after he was convicted of being an accomplice in the 2008 murder of 19-year-old Paris Jackson. He was released from prison in July 2018 and the criminal case against him was dropped. Brown was awarded a certificate of innocence in 2019, the same year he sued the city of Chicago and other defendants.