STATEMENT BY MAYOR ELICKER ON SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS IN THE LAWSUITS HORN V. CITY OF NEW HAVEN, ET AL AND JACKSON V. CITY OF NEW HAVEN, ET AL

[NEW HAVEN, CT] - On Tuesday, the City of New Haven arrived at settlement agreements with the plaintiffs in two consolidated federal civil rights lawsuits, Vernon Horn v. City of New Haven, et al and Marquis Jackson v. the City of New Haven, et al, related to alleged actions that took place in 1999 by the City and other defendants regarding the conviction and incarceration of both men stemming from a 1999 murder, robbery and other offenses. The criminal charges were dismissed in 2018 and both men were released from prison and awarded compensation by the State of Connecticut for wrongful convictions.

All parties agreed to a settlement of $15.25 million for each case, with the City of New Haven responsible for $12.75 million in each case after insurance payments are provided to the plaintiffs. The City's insurance is also covering all attorneys' fees related to the City's and other defendants' legal representation on these cases.

Following the settlement agreements, Mayor Justin Elicker released the following statement:

"No person should ever serve time in prison for a crime they did not commit. Mr. Horn spent 17 years in jail and Mr. Jackson spent 19 years in jail - time they can never get back.

While these incidents happened more than two decades ago and no amount of money can give them back the years they've lost, as a city we still have an obligation to do what we think is right, to account for any miscarriage of justice and to provide Mr. Horn and Mr. Jackson with some sense of peace moving forward.

I was not mayor at the time when these incidents occurred 25 years ago, but I am the mayor today. As mayor, I am deeply sorry for what Mr. Horn and Mr. Jackson have gone through and experienced. They were New Haven residents like us, with their entire lives in front of them, and I hope these settlements will now help them put this difficult chapter behind them and move forward.

It was my pleasure to meet them and talk with them at the mediation.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Judge Vatti for working with all parties to facilitate a fair and reasonable settlement on these matters.

Importantly, the allegations in these cases do not involve the New Haven Police Department of today. Every day, our officers strive to adhere and hold themselves to the highest professional and policing standards and put their lives on the line to protect and serve our residents and keep our community safe. We are grateful to them for their service.

As a city, we have been working very hard in recent years to address the historical financial challenges that we inherited from past administrations and have been making steady progress in putting our city on much firmer financial footing. This decision was a difficult one to make. However, we must account for the actions and decisions made by past administrations while also balancing the city's legal and financial responsibilities today and upholding our values of fairness and justice for our residents."

The proposed settlements will be submitted by the Elicker Administration to the New Haven Board of Alders for their review at their next meeting in September. Pending the Board of Alders' approval at a subsequent meeting, the City will bond for the amount not covered by insurance.

The settlement conferences were facilitated by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti and the settlement agreements will resolve all claims against the City of New Haven on these matters. Attorney Morgan Paul Rueckert of Shipman & Goodwin LLP served as the City's lead outside counsel for both cases.

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PRESS CONTACT:

Lenny Speiller | (203) 725-4249 ; [email protected]