Free Republic

Authorities have reached a $20 million settlement with a man who spent two decades in prison before he was cleared by DNA of the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Waukegan, ending a controversial chapter for Lake County's troubled justice system. Lawyers for Juan Rivera said the agreement with the city of Waukegan and other governmental bodies marks the largest settlement for a wrongfully convicted person in Illinois. "No amount of money could ever sum up to 20 years in prison," Rivera, who hopes to go to college to study business management, said Friday at the offices of...

Former Vancouver police officer Clyde Ray Spencer spent nearly 20 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually molesting his son and daughter. Now, the children say it never happened.Matthew Spencer and Kathryn Tetz, who live in Sacramento, Calif., each took the stand Friday in Clark County Superior Court to clear their father's name, The Columbian newspaper reported.Matthew, now 33, was 9 years old at the time. He told a judge he made the allegation after months of insistent questioning by now-retired Clark County sheriff's detective Sharon Krause just so she would leave him alone.Tetz, 30, said she...

Newaygo County, Mich,February 2, 2006. A man set free after spending 13 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit is facing more trouble. Court documents show 53-year-old Larry Souter owes about $38,000.00 in back child support after Interest and Penalties. The amount grew because he failed to have his payments suspended when he went to prison in 1992. Souter was convicted for the 1979 murder of 19-year-old Kristi Ringler near White Cloud. But years later, a women came forward saying Ringler was actually hit by a motor home. More info on: http://mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-31/113900397434230.xml&storylist=newsmichigan "...In 1987, before his conviction, Souter...