A Syracuse man, wrongfully convicted of rape over 40 years ago, is set to receive a $5.5 million payout from the state of New York.
The man spent almost two decades in prison, while the woman went on to make millions off of the now-debunked sexual assault memoir that she published as a best-selling book.
After being exonerated in 2021 of the 1981 rape of Alice Sebold, who based her memoir “Lucky” on the alleged account, Anthony Broadwater, 62, hopes to be awarded a multi-million settlement for his wrongful conviction. As a result, the man spent 16 ½ years in state prison and 23 years on the sexual assault offender registry.
The State of New York had stalled the settlement, according to Syracuse.com, but in October 2022, Attorney General Letitia James said her desire was to get the deal done “soon.”
“So we’re reviewing that case, and I understand the injustice and hopefully we’ll reach a settlement with his attorneys soon,” James she said at the time.
David Hammond and Melissa Swartz, Broadwater’s attorneys, said the support for James helped the proposal move forward.
On Tuesday, Feb. 14, lawyers presented the proposed $5.5 settlement to a judge to push forward. A local assistant attorney general Bonnie Levy agreed that the settlement will be in the seven figures. However, she has not said this to Broadway under oath and did not demand it be a part of the court process.
The amount the exoneree will receive is substantially less than the original $50 million he and his team originally asked for.
Though Broadwater shared he was “thankful” for the award, he also bemoaned the last 40 years he lost while incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.
This is the first of two federal civil rights lawsuits he has filed against the Syracuse police and the county district attorney’s office.
Hammond said, “We still have a lot of work to do to hold those accountable [for his wrongful…
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