City settles lawsuit for $4.5M

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BY JOE CARLSON
jcarlson@nwitimes.com
219.662.5339 | Wednesday, March 12, 2008 | (6 comment(s))

With millions of dollars on the line, both sides took the sure thing rather than gambling for a better deal.

Attorneys for the city of Hammond and a Gary man who spent a third of his life in prison for a rape he did not commit agreed Monday to settle the man's lawsuit for $4.5 million rather than wait for a ruling on the case from an appeals court.

The city owed Larry Mayes, 57, about $11 million for wrongfully sending him to prison in 1982, using reckless police tactics that included hypnotizing the rape victim, manipulating a photo lineup, and withholding key evidence from Mayes' defense attorneys.

A federal jury in 2006 ruled the city should pay Mayes $9 million for sending him to jail. About $2 million in interest has accrued on the jury award since an appeal of the verdict was filed with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We feared that the 7th Circuit was going to rule (Tuesday), and we weren't willing to take an $8 million gamble either way," Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said. "I didn't want to take a chance and lose $11 million."

The ruling is contingent on the appeals judges accepting a motion to stay the appeal because of the settlement. Although the request was not formally approved Tuesday, both sides were confident that it will be approved in coming days.

John Stainthorp, one of Mayes' attorneys, said his client started considering the city's settlement offers once they finally rose to "substantial" sums. The decision to accept a settlement was based partly on some skeptical questions from appeals judges during oral arguments in the case, Stainthorp said.

"I feel good that Larry Mayes is going to get some recompense for the time he wrongly spent in prison," Stainthorp said. "It's a credit to the mayor that he was willing to take these steps to settle (the case)."

Stainthorp said the attorneys will collect about one-third of the settlement, plus $200,000 in actual costs.

As modern DNA technology was forcing prosecutors across the country to reopen investigations that involved DNA evidence, Mayes became the first person in Lake County to be released from prison using the new technology in 2002.

Analysts ruled that Mayes could not have left the bodily fluids that were recovered from the victim in 1981.

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Ed F. wrote on Mar 12, 2008 1:47 PM:

" How does McMayor plan on paying for the purchase of a courthouse that he wants to turn around and sell to an entity that will never pay property taxes on it? How will he build a banquet hall and a new city hall and satisfy this settlement? In addition, he or his flunky, Chief Hamm say people will die with out proper police/fire protection. Seems to me all these questions are relevant in light of the proposed property tax caps, what do you say "mayor Tom"? "

Give me a break wrote on Mar 12, 2008 1:01 PM:

" To Tony and hmmmmm, it's easy to bash a progressive mayor doing what he thinks is right trying to prevent his city from turning into Gary or E.C., but I don't even think McDermott Sr. was mayor of Hammond in 1982. Your shots at Mayor Tom in this post are a stretch. Get a life! "

Tony wrote on Mar 12, 2008 11:30 AM:

" What is Mcdimwitt hiding for the citizens and the judge, was it his daddy and his cornies that wrongly imprisoned this man? I cincerely hope the city asks for restitution from those police officer and prosecutors who withheld evidence and manipulated the witneses. i thought those were illegal acts prosecuted under the law? "

ccal wrote on Mar 12, 2008 10:22 AM:

" to hmmmmm? what does mayor Tom have to do with this lawsuit. this man was in put in jail over 20 years ago, way before Tom was mayor. "

Hmmmmmmm. wrote on Mar 12, 2008 9:12 AM:

" did mayor Tommy ask this man if he wanted to contribute some of his loot toward a shiny, new city hall? Guess that will be on hold a while longer, eh, Tommy? "

Bob wrote on Mar 12, 2008 8:14 AM:

" Just remember this the next time you sit on a jury. ASK Questions!!!! "

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