News 5 Cleveland: Cleveland Heights settles lawsuit with DNA exoneree for $4 million
Ohio Innocence Project assisted wrongfully convicted man who spent 17 years behind bars
Christopher Miller may finally get the justice he deserves.
Miller, 46, served nearly 17 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. With the help of the Ohio Innocence Project at UC Law, Miller was exonerated by DNA in 2018.
And now the city of Cleveland Heights will pay $4 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit by Miller.
News 5 Cleveland reported the story in a recent broadcast.
Miller was wrongfully convicted of the 2001 sexual assault and robbery of a Cleveland Heights woman. He always maintained his innocence and offered an alibi — Miller was asleep with his girlfriend miles away when the assault occurred. But police investigating the assault tracked the victim’s cell phone to Miller, who said he bought it from a local drug dealer.
A second suspect, Richard Stadmire, also was arrested and convicted. A third suspect in the case, Charles Boyd, testified that Miller was an accomplice in the crime. Miller maintained that Boyd was lying and that they had never met. Boyd later recanted his testimony.
OIP lawyer Brian Howe filed a motion in 2017 to retest DNA evidence in the case and the new test exonerated Miller.
"The DNA testing results showed definitely not only that Mr. Miller was excluded from the sexual assault kit, but DNA testing was able to identify both actual perpetrators in this case," Howe told News 5 Cleveland.
The DNA profiles matched Stadmire and Boyd.
"At some point, police decided that Mr. Miller was responsible for this crime," Howe told News 5 Cleveland. "At that point, the evidence was marshaled to support that conclusion."
Listen to the News 5 Cleveland report.
Learn more about Christopher Miller’s journey.
Featured top image: Christopher Miller hugs his daughters De'Nazha, left, and Chareale in 2018 after his release outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center. Photo/provided.
Related Stories
Some Ohio counties have multiple congressional districts
July 25, 2024
UC Professor David Niven talks to the Ohio Capital Journal about Ohio's sometimes confusing congressional districts.
Miss Ohio makes history as first Latina to win state title
July 25, 2024
UC College of Arts and Sciences student Stephanie Finoti tells Spectrum News that as reigning Miss Ohio, she hopes to inspire other girls to pursue their dreams.
Job of Ohio Democratic delegates just got more interesting
July 24, 2024
UC Professor David Niven talks to USA Today about the role delegates serve at national political conventions.
UC hosts camp for children, teens who stutter
July 24, 2024
Children and teens who stutter have learned skills to help them communicate effectively, advocate for themselves and develop confidence about their communication abilities during a weeklong camp at the University of Cincinnati, Fox 19 reported.
Health effects of secondhand marijuana smoke
July 24, 2024
Local 12 featured the University of Cincinnati's LaTrice Montgomery in a story on the relatively unknown effects of secondhand marijuana smoke.
Don't like your voice? There's an app for that.
July 24, 2024
WVXU's Cincinnati Edition talks to UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Professor Vesna Novak about her new voice-coaching app.
Professor Kimberly D. Bailey named Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at UC Law
July 23, 2024
Professor Kimberly D. Bailey has been named Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Cincinnati Law.
Global tech outage reinforces importance of cybersecurity
July 23, 2024
A global tech outage affecting Windows-based computers halted operations for businesses, individuals and institutions, offering a reminder of the importance of cybersecurity, WLWT reported. The Ohio Cyber Range Institute (OCRI), which is housed at the University of Cincinnati, is preparing Ohio to respond if a cyberattack were to happen.
UC program provides pathway to earn a degree in education
July 23, 2024
News outlets featured UC student Zyair Anderson, who is majoring in education. Anderson is a participant in the School of Education BIPOC teacher pathway program.
LLM alumna touts Cincinnati Law, University of Bordeaux partnership as exciting experience
July 22, 2024
Lorette Pouhet, a UC Law LLM alumna, shares her experience and thoughts about the UC Law-University of Bordeaux partnership.