Ryan Ferguson, who spent nearly a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit, will receive $38 million. The payout comes after a long legal battle in which Ferguson sued for back pay from a previous settlement of his wrongful conviction.
Ferguson, 40, was wrongfully convicted in 2005 for the 2001 murder of Kent Heitholt – a sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune – when he was only 19 years old. Through the ordeal, he maintained his innocence, serving nearly ten years in a Missouri state prison before his conviction was overturned in 2013.
The case against Ferguson depended largely on testimony from Charles Erickson, who had confessed to the murder, although he had no memory of the night in question. Later, Erickson would acknowledge he had lied about Ferguson’s involvement. Additional testimony was made on the floor from those claiming police and prosecutors coerced them into lying about the incident.
After his release, Ferguson filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Columbia, police, and prosecutors that resulted in an $11 million settlement. However, Travelers Insurance, contracted by the city, refused to pay him. Recently, a jury compelled the company to pay Ferguson damages amounting to $2.9 million and $35 million in punitive damages for a grand total of almost $38 million.
But the war was not yet won by Ferguson. Although the $11 million judgment initially granted was considered a victory, it was refused by Travelers Insurance, an insurance provider for the city from 2006 to 2011. The refusal put the six police officers involved in the case in financial constraint due to huge legal fees they could not afford.
The officers and Ferguson filed suit together on the grounds that Travelers had unfairly tried to disavow its responsibility for any resulting damages and costs flowing from his wrongful conviction.
The jury ultimately found for Ferguson, and for the police officers, awarding $38 million in damages. Ferguson will receive 86% of the payout, with six officers to split the remaining 14%, so all parties in this long legal fight are covered financially.
One of Ferguson’s attorneys, Kathleen Zellner, called the bigger implication to bear on cases of wrongful conviction throughout the country due to this verdict. “This decision will have a far-reaching impact in wrongful conviction cases nationwide as insurers refuse to settle,” Zellner said. “Justice was finally served for Ryan Ferguson. The jury heard us loud and clear.”
Ferguson spoke with great relief and joy toward being allowed to get on with his life: “It’s an incredible feeling,” he told CBS News. “I can go where I want, do what I want, something I haven’t experienced in my whole adult life. I get out and it’s such a different world and there’s so much more going on.”
It all started when Kent Heitholt was brutally murdered in 2001. Heitholt was beaten and strangled in the parking lot of the Columbia Daily Tribune. At the time, Ferguson was a high school student. The case took a remarkable turn when Charles Erickson, a classmate of his, confessed to the crime on a drunken bender, only to later recant.
Mostly by Erickson’s testimony and that of another witness, later proved to be false, Ferguson was convicted and received 40 years in prison without concrete physical evidence that placed him at the crime scene.
Since his release, Ferguson has been an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform and the rights of the wrongly convicted. His story reveals failures in the justice system and underlines that vigilance cannot be relaxed even now.
The $38 million payout now finally allows Ferguson to get on with his life. It does not replace the years lost, but it does bring a sense of closure and justice for the conviction he so wrongly endured.
From wrongful conviction to vindication, Ferguson’s story is one of toeing the line and mixture, all in pursuit of justice. His story continues to be an inspiration for others in their fight for their rights and reform in the criminal justice system as he goes along.
