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Posted on 11/04/2023 10:04:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Walter Ogrod’s settlement is the third highest in the city’s history
The city of Philadelphia will pay more than $9 million to a man who spent 28 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of murdering 4-year-old Barbara Jean Horn.
On July 12, 1988, Horn disappeared from her front yard in Philadelphia’s Castor Gardens neighborhood. A few hours later, her body was found stuffed in a cardboard TV box only a few blocks away from her home.
Walter Ogrod lived across the street from Horn’s family at the time of her murder. He was arrested four years later in 1992 after police said he confessed to killing her. Ogrod’s first trial ended in a mistrial in 1993 while he was convicted and sentenced to death in a second trial in 1996.
In 2018, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit took another look at Ogrod’s case. They determined Ogrod was not the killer and instead came up with two potential suspects.
In 2020, Ogrod was released from prison after his conviction was overturned.
Philly Police Reopen Case into 1988 Murder of Barbara Jean Horn Ogrod then filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Philadelphia in 2021, accusing the city of wrongful prosecution and the detectives involved in his case of framing him.
On Thursday, the city reached a settlement in which they denied all wrongdoing while Ogrod, now 59-years-old, received $9.1 million from Philadelphia taxpayers.
“This litigation was a long and hard-fought battle that resulted in a significant settlement that will give Walter Ogrod the economic support he needs as he continues re-establishing his life,” Ogrod’s lawyer, Joe Marrone, wrote in a statement. “He remains optimistic about his future and is committed to fighting for his fellow inmates who have also been wrongfully convicted.”
A spokesperson for the city also issued a statement on the settlement.
“The City remains committed to transparency in the pursuit of justice,” the spokesperson wrote. “Although the City’s settlement is not a finding of wrongdoing by any party, the City recognizes the pain and burden to all parties that continued litigation of this lawsuit would bring. The City hopes that this resolution can be a just result for all those affected, and our hearts remain with the family of Barbara Jean Horn as they continue to seek justice for their loved one.”
Judy Rubino, the prosecutor in Ogrod’s second trial, told NBC10 that she was not happy the city settled and hoped the case would go to trial.
Ogrod’s settlement is the third highest in the city’s history, behind the $9.8 million that Anthony Wright and Chester Hollman were both rewarded in their settlements.
Philadelphia police reopened their investigation of the murder of Barbara Jean Horn following NBC10’s true crime docuseries about the case, which premiered in 2021.
They cleared him fr dna under her fingernails.
One of the two unnamed suspects is dead and the other is in prison.
Why from taxpayers? Didn’t the city have liability insurance?
Do you think they care about the taxpayers?
Obviously not.
I wonder how much the IRS is going to take.
Every time I see a wrongful conviction case like this, I am reminded of the standard for conviction given by God to the Jews. Not that we have to follow OT law, but in every one of these cases I've seen this standard is not met.
“Didn’t the city have liability insurance?”
Most cities are “self-insured”.
(From the bottomless well of the taxpayer).
> I wonder how much the IRS is going to take.<
Just write loan repayment on the comments line and don’t report it to the IRS. I hear that works in Delaware.
EC
I’d imagine that liability insurance rates for a city like that became prohibitively expensive years ago and the city self insured itself because, after all, the city government would just do what it normally does anyway - lay the cost off on the homeowner, business, etc.
They may not take anything. IIRC, there are things like insurance payments that don’t get taxed. It might be the same for lawsuit settlements, too.
“The City remains committed to transparency in the pursuit of justice,” the spokesperson wrote. “Although the City’s settlement is not a finding of wrongdoing by any party, the City recognizes the pain and burden to all parties that continued litigation of this lawsuit would bring. The City hopes that this resolution can be a just result for all those affected, and our hearts remain with the family of Barbara Jean Horn as they continue to seek justice for their loved one.”
A CROCK OF SH## EXPLANATION typical of those in control
News articles on these events are completely one sided.
No one involved with the prosecution or Police investigation is ever going to say one word, because of legal risk.
Bottom Line...
None of the falsely imprisoned ever prove their innocence.
At best, they prove reasonable doubt, doubt that cannot be challenged decades after the crime took place.
The other thing is there is a big difference between an honest mistake on the part of the State, and criminal wrongdoing on the part of the State.
Ping!
Assuming that this guy is,in fact,innocent it's good that he's finally out.
I think that rewards like that aren’t subject to taxation.
Can you give us a link to this as DNA is not mentioned in the article.
My thought was that without DNA evidence the city would not have put up the 9.1 million.
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