$2M From State Of Colo. For Exonerated Former Prisoner Moses-EL

DENVER, CO – By Alex Burness for The Colorado Independent. Clarence Moses-EL, a Denver man who spent nearly half his life in prison on a wrongful rape and assault conviction, will be awarded about $2 million in compensation from the state, Attorney General Phil Weiser announced last week.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (Photo from coag.gov)Weiser called Moses-EL’s case a “travesty of justice” and said it must be a “learning experience” for the state.
“We have to learn from this … tragic mistake and action,” he said. “There is, I believe now, a clear and powerful example of financial and human costs.”

Weiser, a Democrat, was preceded in office by Republican Cynthia Coffman, who fought Moses-EL’s compensation claim and sought to delay a trial on the matter until later this year. Weiser told reporters this morning that he believes the state would have lost in trial and that paying Moses-EL now “will prevent the parties from having to relive the experience.”

“(Coffman) did what she thought was right. And I did what I thought was right,” Weiser said.
Under a Colorado law passed in 2013, people who’ve been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned are eligible to petition for $70,000 per year they spent behind bars. In Moses-EL’s case, that total comes to almost $2 million. He is just the second person to be compensated under this law.

“Although no amount of money can give Mr. Moses-EL back the half of his life that was lost to the Colorado prison system, this compensation will help him and his family recover from this traumatic ordeal,” said Gail Johnson, one of his attorneys, in a press release. “While official recognition of his innocence is long overdue, Mr. Moses-EL appreciates that the state of Colorado is finally taking this important step forward.”

READ MORE at The Colorado Independent

Clarence Moses-EL in November 2016. (Photo by Marie-Dominique Verdier)