The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has ruled a civil rights lawsuit filed by three men who spent decades in prison for a Cleveland murder they didn't commit may proceed to trial.
The court ruled a federal judge wrongly dismissed lawsuits filed by Ricky Jackson, Kwame Ajamu and Wiley Bridgeman against Cleveland, a former police detective and the estates of three other detectives who are deceased. Bridgeman and Jackson were released from prison in November 2014 after the witness, now an adult, recanted his 1975 testimony. Ajamu was paroled in 2003. The three were convicted of killing a salesman outside a Cleveland convenience store. Ohio has paid them millions for wrongful imprisonment. A city spokesperson says Cleveland is disappointed with the decision and is evaluating its options.
