Man Wrongfully Convicted of Two Violent Crimes Receives Compensation from Maryland
In a significant turn of events, Demetrius Smith, a man who endured years of wrongful imprisonment, will receive compensation from the state of Maryland. This comes after enduring incarceration for two separate violent crimes, including a period exceeding a year after his innocence was established.
On Wednesday, a Maryland board approved a settlement exceeding $340,000 in compensation for Demetrius Smith, who was wrongly convicted of murder and first-degree assault, spending more than five years behind bars. The chair of the Board of Public Works, Gov. Wes Moore, formally apologized to Smith before the settlement was granted. Moore acknowledged that more than a decade had passed since Smith’s release in 2013.
“We’re here today, more than 10 years after he was released from incarceration, providing Mr. Smith with the long-overdue justice that he was deprived of—a formal apology from the state of Maryland that, until today, he had never received,” stated Moore during the hearing, attended by Smith in person.
Smith’s wrongful legal battle began in 2008 when he was unjustly charged with murder. Gov. Moore highlighted that even during Smith’s bail hearing, the presiding judge remarked that the case presented was “probably the thinnest case” he had ever encountered. Nevertheless, the prosecution persisted, primarily relying on testimony from a witness who was later found to have not even been present at the crime scene.
Within less than two months of his initial arrest, while out on bail, Smith was arrested again and taken into custody for first-degree assault. Once more, the prosecution relied on witnesses who would later retract their statements.
In 2010, Smith faced conviction and was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional 18 years. In 2011, he entered an Alford plea for the assault charge, maintaining his innocence. Smith resorted to this plea after losing faith in the criminal justice system. Under an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges the likelihood of conviction if the case were to go to trial.
In 2011, the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office charged the actual perpetrator of the murder, vindicating Smith. Despite this, Smith endured another year and a half in prison before the state finally dropped the murder conviction in 2012.
In May 2013, Smith petitioned the court to review his Alford plea for the assault charge, ultimately resulting in his sentence being modified to time served, along with three years of probation, later reduced to probation alone.
Gov. Moore expressed deep remorse, saying, “I am profoundly sorry for the fact that our justice system failed you not once, but our justice system failed you twice. While no amount of money can make up for what was taken from you, the action this board is taking today represents a formal acknowledgment from the state for the injustice that was caused.”
This decision signifies a significant step towards rectifying the injustices that Demetrius Smith endured during his prolonged legal ordeal.