Local News in Brief : False Conviction Award
A $2-million damage award to a Los Angeles man wrongly imprisoned for 2 1/2 years for murder was upheld Monday by a federal appeals court in San Francisco.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a verdict against the city of Long Beach and two Long Beach police officers in a case brought by Juan Francisco Venegas, 37, who was convicted of murder in a 1971 killing after officers allegedly pressured a witness to lie about his involvement.
Venegas spent nearly three years in state prison after being convicted of helping Lawrence Reyes kill William Staga on Christmas day in 1971, even though Reyes confessed and exonerated him.
Long Beach is liable for the $2 million in compensatory damages, while officers Carthel S. Roberson and Ronnie J. Skaggs, who has since retired, were ordered to pay punitive damages of $40,000 each.
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