An Ohio man who spent 21 years in prison for committing a crime that never actually happened has been awarded $1.3 million for his troubles.
Ralph Blaine Smith, 49, had been locked up since he was 24 for a home invasion that allegedly occurred in 2000 in Pickerington, Ohio, just east of Columbus.
The conviction was overturned in July 2021 and Smith was allowed to walk free after his attorney, Joseph Landusky, successfully argued that there wasn't enough evidence to prove the crime even happened. Landusky told WSYX that Smith's first defense attorney more than two decades ago was not provided sufficient evidence that could have proven his innocence.
"He was sentenced to 67 years in prison for a crime that was not even committed by anyone," Landusky said. "When first responders showed up, there were no footprints in the snow. It had recently snowed. There was a dog barking right next door when they pulled up; the neighbors said no dog had barked in the last hour."
After his release, Smith filed a claim for state compensation as well as a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking compensation for his wrongful conviction. Last week, the State of Ohio approved a settlement of $1.3 million.
Now a free man and a millionaire, Smith says he used his 21 years in prison to learn not to take anything for granted.
"To be grateful to wherever you're at in life, to keep fighting," Smith told WSYX when asked what he learned. "Small things don't bother me. I don't let it get to me, because I'm happy that I'm out here to be able to experience it."
Smith's federal lawsuit is still pending.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Smith's ordeal began in February 2000 when 24-year-old Rudy Stefanitsis called police and said he, his wife, and their three children had been robbed in a home invasion. Stefanitsis said two Black men with guns forced him to open a safe and took approximately $10,000 in cash, along with rare comic books, jewelry and other valuables. He additionally claimed that the men tied up the family, cut the phone line and left.
Days after the reported home invasion, a woman named Mary Office told a friend that she suspected Smith had something to do with the crime, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. That information was passed to police, who said Smith's picture was picked by the family when they were shown a photo array of potential suspects -- during which investigators put small pieces of paper over the photos to recreate the masks the robbers were said to have worn.
When interviewed by police, Smith denied any involvement with the crime. Smith, who previously dated Office, asked police if the Stefanitsis family could look at him in person to show that he wasn't the person who committed the home invasion. That never happened.
On March 17, the Stefanitsises testified before a grand jury, which ultimately handed down an indictment against Smith, charging him on two counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping and one count of theft.
Police never recovered any of the stolen items and there was no physical or forensic evidence tying Smith to the crime, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Still, the jury convicted him on all eight counts and he was later sentenced to 67 years in prison.
Following years of appeals, a judge finally granted Smith a new trial in 2021 after determining evidence was withheld by prosecutors during trial. Rather than conduct a second trial, the prosecution decided to drop all charges and Smith was exonerated.
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