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Connecticut is set to pay nearly $5.9 million to the family of a disabled man who was wrongly imprisoned for more than two decades before he was freed in 2015 when his 1992 conviction in the murder and rape of an 88-year-old grandmother was overturned.
Richard Lapointe, who died at age 74 in 2020, had Dandy-Walker syndrome, a rare congenital brain malformation that his lawyers say was a factor in his false confession. Lapointe was never declared innocent, but his lawyers and the state attorney general’s office eventually agreed to settle after years of legal battles.
The state claims commissioner’s office on Jan. 2 set the money to be awarded to the family, although it still needs to be approved by the legislature. The claims commissioner’s office determines whether people can file lawsuits against the state or receive money under the state’s wrongful incarceration law.
Claims Commissioner Robert Shea Jr. said his office agreed that the award is “reasonable and appropriate.”
The state Supreme Court ruled 4-2 in a 2015 decision that Lapointe was deprived of a fair trial. (iStock)
Before Martin’s death, Lapointe and his wife, who has cerebral palsy, “were making a life together. They were doing okay,” Casteleiro said. But after his arrest, his wife divorced him, and he lost all contact with his son, who was young at the time.
After his release from prison, Lapointe began suffering from dementia, was placed in a nursing home in East Hartford and died after a battle with COVID-19, according to his lawyers.
Lapointe has been supported by several advocates, including the groups Friends of Richard Lapointe and Centurion, an organization Casteleiro works for that helps the wrongly convicted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.