因豐田暴衝撞死數人而坐3年冤獄的亞裔將獲政府賠償

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/284701381.html

A St. Paul man wrongly imprisoned for a fatal 2006 car accident is seeking compensation from the state for the 2½ years he spent behind bars.

Koua Fong Lee is eligible to receive compensation under the Imprisonment and Exoneration Remedies Act enacted in July, said an order signed Monday by Ramsey County District Judge Joanne Smith.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi’s office signed off on the stipulation agreeing to Lee’s eligibility for the compensation, a minimum of $50,000 per year of incarceration plus restitution and other damages.

“This was a pretty easy decision — the right thing to do,” Choi said. “We know so much more today.”

Choi and Julie Jonas, legal director of the Minnesota Innocence Project, said they believe that Lee is the first person to seek compensation under the new law.

Lee was convicted at trial in 2007 of nine felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide, imprisoned and then freed in August 2010 after a massive Toyota recall revived his cause and led to the dismissal of his case.

Jonas, who helped with Lee’s criminal case and whose organization was instrumental in passing the act, said the money symbolizes the state’s willingness to recognize and rectify problems in the justice system.

“Money can never fix anything, right?” Jonas said. “But it’s a start to help them put their lives together.”

Lee was driving his pregnant wife, their 4-year-old daughter, his father and his brother home from their Minneapolis church on June 10, 2006, when he took the Snelling Avenue exit off eastbound Interstate 94. He tried to brake when he reached the top of the incline, but has said that his 1996 Toyota Camry accelerated instead, sideswiping one car before slamming into the back of an Oldsmobile Ciera.

Experts said that Lee’s car was traveling 76 to 91 miles per hour when it struck the Ciera, killing its driver, Javis Trice-Adams, 33, and his 9-year-old son, Javis Adams Jr. Trice-Adams’ niece, Devyn Bolton, 7, was paralyzed in the crash and died after Lee’s trial.

 

所有跟帖： 

• 牢裏呆了2年半, 每年才賠5萬, 是不是太少了點 -金迷- ♂ (0 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 06:50:43

• 然後接著告豐田。 -biglow- ♂ (0 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 06:53:01

• 是很少，但洗掉罪名再帶點補償已經很不錯了。受害人一家最冤，便宜豐田了 -日理萬機- ♂ (21 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 07:02:52

• 大頭在這裏，plus restitution and other damages -其樂無窮- ♂ (0 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 08:11:03

• 那是低限。不是上限。光Human Suffering, 陪幾十萬, easy. -southmountainer- ♂ (0 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 11:43:45

• 真沒有天理了，應該找豐田算帳，這和政府有什麽關係？ -foxbat- ♂ (0 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 14:45:33

• 以後再不會開豐田了吧 -青花- ♀ (2 bytes) () 01/09/2015 postreply 14:51:56