Two men who spent a combined total of 60 years in prison for crimes they did not commit will soon be receiving a substantial check from the City of Los Angeles.
The City Council approved the settlements totaling more than $24 million Tuesday. The two men, whose cases are unrelated, claim dishonest tactics by the LAPD led to their wrongful convictions for murder in 1979 and 1983.
Attorneys for the city recommended the payout, calling one of the overturned convictions “a very dangerous case.” The other was “even more problematic,” the attorneys wrote.
City Council Member Paul Krekorian lamented the years of injustice experienced by the two men.
“It’s just regrettable that these two individuals spent the better part of their lives in prison as a result of the inadequacy of the investigations that happened back then,” the councilman said.
The individuals, Bruce Lisker and Kash Delano Register, are calling for reforms to prevent wrongful convictions in the future. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has said the city is already dealing with a far more equipped police force than it was even a decade ago.
Read more about Tuesday’s vote here.
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