A Missouri man who spent 10 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit is getting a huge paycheck

A Missouri man who spent 10 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit will receive millions from an insurance company.

According to ABC 17 News, Ryan Ferguson will receive $38 million in damages in a lawsuit against Traveler’s Insurance because the insurer failed to pay him money owed in a lawsuit, a jury decided Friday.

“This ruling will have far-reaching implications for wrongful convictions across the country if the insurer refuses to participate in settlement negotiations and refuses to immediately pay its share of the judgment,” one of his attorneys, Kathleen Zellner, told ABC 17 News.

“Justice has finally been served for Ryan Ferguson.” “The jury heard us loud and clear.”

Ferguson was convicted at age 19 of the murder of Kent Heitholt, then a sports editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune. His conviction was overturned in 2013 after it was revealed that the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense, the media said.

Ferguson will join six former Columbia Police Department officers in receiving the payment.

Ferguson will join six former Columbia Police Department officers in receiving the payment. Ferguson is expected to receive 86 percent of the payout – or about $48,905,000

According to ABC 17 News, Ferguson is expected to receive 86 percent of the payout – or about $48,905,000 – while everyone else will receive two percent each.

The six officers involved are Jeffery Nichols, William Westbrook, John Short, Loyd Simmons, Latisha Burns and Bryan Liebhart.

They worked on his original murder case and were added as plaintiffs in the travel insurance case after being denied coverage by the agency, according to Zellner.

“The officers were in a no-win situation, and Ryan was in a situation where he couldn’t get his judgment without being able to sue Travelers on behalf of the officers,” Zellner told the outlet.

“This is the highest sentence in the United States for 10 years in prison.”

Ferguson sued Travelers in 2017, after he had already been released from prison, saying they had “deliberately disregarded the officers’ financial interests in the hope of compromising the obligation to fund the officers’ defense and the obligation to protect them.” to compensate for significant financial loss. “Obligation,” according to ABC 17 News.

The company was ordered to pay him $1 million for each year he served in prison, plus an additional $354,000 for legal fees on behalf of the city of Columbia. He received $2.75 million.

He was convicted of murder. The only evidence linking him to the crime was the statements of two witnesses who had since recanted their statements under oath.

Travelers appealed in 2019, saying the insurance policy was not in effect at the time of the Ferguson case.

According to ABC 17 News, the appeals court sided with the former inmate and awarded him $5.3 million.

The case went to trial last month to hear Ferguson and the officers’ lawsuit against the insurance company.

He was convicted of murder. The only evidence linking him to the crime was the statements of two witnesses who had since recanted their statements under oath.

He has maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison.

Ferguson was only 21 when he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a murder implicated by his friend Chuck Erikson, although Erikson could not remember any details of the night in question.

Even after Erikson recanted his report and told an appeals court he had lied under oath, Ferguson remained behind bars.

“Justice has finally been served for Ryan Ferguson.” “The jury heard us loud and clear,” said one of his lawyers, Kathleen Zellner

Ferguson was convicted at age 19 of killing Kent Heitholt, a sports editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune at the time, which he did not commit

In his police interviews, Erikson, who was a drug user, was unable to provide further details about the crime. He falsely stated that Mr. Heitholt had been strangled with a shirt or bungee cord before the detective who questioned him told Erikson that it was an Erikson belt.

However, he claimed he hit the editor once before Ferguson strangled him.

“The police threatened me that they would charge Ferguson or I would be solely responsible for Heitholt’s death and would be charged with first-degree murder and possibly sentenced to death,” Erickson said in an affidavit.

Despite fingerprints, a bloody footprint and other evidence found at the crime scene that did not match Erikson or Ferguson, police arrested her.

Ferguson told police that he and Erikson went to a bar the night Heitholt was killed and then he drove her home.