(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A former Chicago man has reached a $7.5 million settlement after spending more than seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit in Indiana.
In 1996, shortly after Keith Cooper's family moved to Elkhart, he was arrested for a shooting and convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder.
He was later cleared by genetic evidence and in 2017 received a pardon from Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Attorney Elliot Slosar said Cooper sued the city of Elkhart, claiming the victim and witnesses were manipulated by police into identifying Cooper as the shooter.
“There are scores of other wrongfully convicted people like Keith Cooper from Elkhart, Indiana who were framed for crimes they didn’t commit,” he said Wednesday.
A statement from the city of Elkhart said the settlement in Cooper's case acknowledges the injustice done to him, and that the city is on a path to accountability to prevent future wrongful convictions.
A judge expunged Cooper's conviction.
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