Man wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years will be paid $1.5m by the state of Kansas

The state of Kansas will pay $1.5 million to Lamonte McIntyre after the Attorney General’s office decided on Monday that he was wrongfully convicted for a double murder in 1994.

McIntyre, who was 17 at the time of the conviction, served 8,583 days (approx 23 and a half years) for the murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn.

He received two life sentences for the murders but in 2017, a judge vacated the sentence and freed McIntyre.

McIntyre sued the state of Kansas for wrongful conviction and sought compensation two years after coming out. But the state initially refused to budge.

The office of state Attorney General said in 2019 that it found “the record of prior judicial proceedings … insufficient” to warrant any sort of compensation for McIntyre.

Kansas, in 2018, passed a law to award compensation for the wrongfully convicted – a sum of $65,000 for every year served.

McIntyre supported efforts to pass the 2018 law and at the time, told local news: “I’m not angry. I’m frustrated because I don’t like to see this kind of injustice happen to nobody.

“We are going to help innocent people come home. But we also want to make sure they are sound and on solid ground once they get here.”

His lawyer said on Monday that the long-overdue recognition (McIntyre was given a Certificate of Innocence), and other statutory benefits “will help lighten a bit the heavy load he has carried”.