A handsome Black man Mark Denny was only 17-years-old when he was sentenced to 57 years in prison for a crime he knew nothing about.
Released in 2017, he now has something to smile about albeit what he has received won’t bring back the almost three decades he wasted behind bars.
According to records obtained by the NY Post through the Freedom of Information Law, Comptroller Scott Stringer reached a $9.75 million settlement with Denny after he agreed to not go ahead with a $50 million lawsuit against the city and the NYPD that would have accused the department of framing him.
Under the signed May 24 agreement, Denny can no longer sue the city and hold it liable for his imprisonment.
“It was in the best interest of the city to settle pre-litigation,” Stringer spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays told the NY Post.
Denny’s ordeal began in 1987 when he and three other men were charged with robbing a Burger King and raping an 18-year-old female employee. He was convicted in 1989 though he maintained his innocence, alleging he was “targeted and framed” by several police officers who fabricated evidence and did not check his alibi, the NY Post further reports.
The rape victim, who did not also identify Denny as one of the perpetrators when she was shown photos of suspects but later pointed him out at a lineup was allegedly induced by detectives after they suggested he was the suspect.
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“Prison was an ugly experience for me. I almost lost myself. Now I’m a free man,” Denny told the Brooklyn Supreme Court after he was exonerated in 2017, according to the NY Post. “This type of justice is needed, I appreciate everything that everyone has done.”
Denny’s case was taken up by the Innocence Project who worked to ensure his release after the Kings County district attorney’s Conviction Review Unit established he wasn’t at the crime scene that night.
“After a lengthy and extensive investigation into this horrific case, I have concluded that the cause of justice requires that we vacate the conviction of Mr. Denny,” Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
“Expert analysis of his identification, an examination of the rest of the evidence and multiple accounts from witnesses and co-defendants all indicate that he was not present when this terrible crime was committed exactly 30 years ago.”
Crazy….i too was charged of a crime I didn’t commit because I fit a description. I plead out and got probation because my family could not afford to go to trial. As a result…I can’t get a nice place to live in a nice area…not can I get jobs I’m qualified to do. It’s a very hard life. I’m so glad this man got justice and it worked out for him. God is good and he blesses you in accordance to his will…in my case…I guess God is still revealing things to me…in my life. But I am happy this man got justice….even tho 10 mil…will never equal 30 years
You reply reveals a beautiful human being; is in the same position that could have been so many of us–and has and more than unfortunately will be.
I wish you all the best in your life and hope you get the breakthrough you need.
Dear R, my family has also faced the injustice of wrongful accusation. After a hung jury of 11 innocent and 1 against, because this person unfortunately did not believe that a minister would lie, the judge advised not going back to trial because of the climate of “me too. “ my relative was offered a plea deal of a misdemeanor totally unrelated to the 18 felonies previously slapped on this person. This is what the system does to us . My prayer is that you go forward blessed by God with the courage and resources needed for a successful and peaceful life. Praying for you.
He should have gone to trial to expose the NYPD and other us PD for what they really are – a criminal organisation of racist killer cops – and getting paid 50 million at the end of it.
He gave them 30 years, a trial would take more out of his life and he was not going to get 50. Easy for us to say go for it but he probably just wants to start his life. We know what the PD does anyway!
As a former Law Enforcement Officer, I’m deeply saddened by what happened to you sir. I definitely can not phantom all those years of being incarcerated, for a crime not committed by you.
While growing up in the city streets of NYC, and knowing what goes on in city jails, prisons, losing your freedom, being in 4 walls, losing your rights to be free, that kept me straight. Being arrested, charged and convicted, and your innocent? That’s the ultimate “live death”, for someone that experienced what happened to you. It would have been for me. May God bless you sir and although you lost good years of your life, I’m sure your faith guided you to the ultimate outcome and hopefully the years left of your life, is blessed with peace & health.
Honestly if I were him I would invest in litigation and assist in suing judges, District attorneys and prosecuters on behalf of any other recently exonerated prisoners. Make the US prison and judicial system bleed money until the thought of discrimination makes their accountants heads shake.