Baltimore pays $14 million to wrongfully convicted man who spent 31 years in prison

Baltimore agreed on Wednesday to pay $14 million to a man who was wrongfully convicted of a 1986 murder.

Gary Washington spent more than 30 years in prison and always maintained his innocence. He alleged that police threatened a child witness whose testimony led to his conviction. 

Flawed case

The witness statement signed by 12-year-old Otis Robinson in January 1987 named Gary Washington as a killer.

It was the key evidence in the case against Washington, who spent more than three decades behind bars after a jury convicted him. 

The tragedy began in the 2300 block of Barclay Street in East Baltimore two days after Christmas in 1986.

The victim, Faheem "Bobo" Ali, was walking down the street, according to court records, when he encountered two men. They began arguing. One of them shot and killed Ali. 

Police focused on Washington as the suspect. A new dad who was just 25 years old at the time, he lived on the block. 

Washington never wavered in his claims that he did not commit the killing. 

In court filings, Washington's lawyers said police, desperate to make an arrest, threatened the 12-year-old that if he did not identify a shooter, he would be taken from his mother and could be arrested for the homicide himself.

Major settlement 

Baltimore City's spending board voted Wednesday to pay Washington $14 million to resolve his civil rights lawsuit and claims police manipulated witnesses and fabricated evidence. 

"Based on the unreliability of the detectives' testimony at this point due to their advanced age, due to the recanted witness, which was the reason the plaintiff was released from prison, we felt at this juncture prior to trial was the best time to settle the case," Chief Baltimore City Solicitor Justin Conroy said. "And so, for that reason, we negotiated pretty aggressively and got a settlement value that we think is the best deal for the city and resolves the matter."

Mayor Brandon Scott said the Baltimore Police Department has changed dramatically since the Washington case. 

"We have come a long way. First of all, making sure that we do a much better job of hiring and keeping folks that should be employed as police officers versus those who may have questionable character," Scott said. 

Governor Moore apologizes

This is the second settlement Washington has received since his release in 2019.

The state authorized a $3 million payment that came with an apology from the governor in 2024.

"11,459 days or 31 years were stolen from Mr. Washington," Governor Wes Moore said at the time.

Washington told the governor he got through the ordeal by reading, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Strength to Love," a collection of the late civil rights leader's sermons.

"On behalf of the entire state, I'm sorry for the failure of the justice system," Moore said. 

Washington's attorney Renee Spence told WJZ Investigates, "Almost exactly 39 years ago today, Baltimore homicide detectives went into Mr. Washington's house and wrongfully arrested him for the murder of Faheem Ali. The arrest and Mr. Washington's eventual wrongful conviction were based on evidence these detectives fabricated. While this settlement cannot make up for the more than three decades Mr. Washington spent wrongfully imprisoned and falsely branded a murderer, it is an important end to a nearly 40-year legal battle to clear his name and hold these officers accountable."

Both of Washington's parents died while he was in prison. He is now 64 years old. 

"She knew that you were innocent," Gov. Moore said of Washington's mother. "…I know she's looking down with pride in her son."