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Men Wrongly Imprisoned for Murder Get Millions From Ohio
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Two Ohio brothers who spent decades in prison for a murder they didn’t commit will receive millions in additional compensation from the Ohio Court of Claims.
The court announced Tuesday that 61-year-old Wiley Bridgeman will receive $2.4 million and 58-year-old Kwame Ajamu nearly $2 million for being wrongfully imprisoned in the 1975 slaying of a salesman outside a corner store in Cleveland.
Bridgeman received an initial payment of $970,000 and Ajamu $648,000 from the court last year. A third man convicted in the slaying, 59-year-old Ricky Jackson, has received $1 million thus far.
Jackson spent 39 years in prison, Bridgeman 37 years and Ajamu 25 years. All were sentenced to death.
They were exonerated last year after a key witness who was 13 when he testified recanted.