Montana City, Montana (Independent Record) — The two men who were wrongfully convicted for a 1994 kidnapping and homicide in Montana City have each received $6 million in settlements.
Freddie Joe Lawrence and Paul Jenkins reached their settlements after filing separate lawsuits, MTN News reported. They each had spent more than 23 years in prison.
Lawrence signed his settlement in September and his lawsuit in federal court was dismissed in October. Jenkins’ settlement was signed November 2019, and his lawsuit was dismissed soon afterward, MTN reported. Insurance companies for the Montana Association of Counties agreed to pay the claims.
They each filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in 2019, saying law enforcement officials in three counties fabricated and hid evidence in order to secure those convictions. They claimed there were violations of their rights to due process, fair trial, reckless investigation, malicious prosecution, and a host of others.