As reported in Newsday:
"A former Central Islip man who spent nearly 26 years incarcerated for a string of gas station robberies and later had his conviction overturned has reached a $12.8 million settlement with Suffolk County.
"In July 2022, Rodolfo Taylor, 63, filed a $55 million federal civil rights lawsuit against Suffolk County and 10 former police officers, citing evidence pointing to other suspects that was never turned over to the defense during his 1984 trials. Earlier that year, a Suffolk judge vacated Taylor’s robbery convictions after an investigation by the Suffolk District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit found several witnesses had originally identified other suspects.
"Taylor, who was released from prison in February 2010, said he is pleased with the settlement, but it does not make up for the quarter-century he spent behind bars."
As Bruce Barket said: “I don’t think there is a person who would trade 26 years of their life for this much money. Think about all the events you participated in that if you were incarcerated in that you would have missed. Your family’s weddings, birthdays — you’re deprived of all of that."
But of course, the firm is pleased to secure this settlement for their client.
Read the full article in Newsday here (subscription):
