Davontae Sanford, Wrongfully Convicted, Gets Awarded $408,000

Davontae Sanford was 14-years-old when he was arrested in September of 2007 for quadruple homicide in a drug house on Detroit's east side. He said he was tricked into a confession and guilty plea by police and his attorney, and was convicted as an adult of second-degree murder, going to prison at the age of 15. 

Some people will and have said you cannot trick someone into confessing to a murder they didn't commit, but that's not true at all. It actually happens all the time and we must keep in mind at the time that Davontae Sanford was a child, so when investigators make up their minds that they are going to charge you regardless, you must plea, and 99.9% of Black men and even boys plea guilty in hopes of a lighter sentence.  When you're black there's no such thing as "innocent until proven guilty" it's "guilty until proven innocent" and being found innocent while you're black rarely happens. Casey Anthony should've been in jail, Brock Turner should've been in jail, not sentenced to six months and then released for "good behavior" only halfway through his sentence for sexual assault. Systematic racism is real and it's destroying lives of minorities and if you don't have money or can't grab national attention about your case, then you're stuck. 

Back to the story, A Detroit hit man later said he had committed the four killings, not Sanford. In 2016, the Wayne County prosecutor said Sanford should be released from prison on other grounds, whatever that means.

Under a 2016 law, someone who is wrongly convicted can qualify for $50,000 for every year spent in prison. Separately, Sanford has a lawsuit pending in federal court against Detroit police. 

Sanford also has a lawsuit against the city pending in federal court. His attorney, Julie Hurwitz, said the trial is scheduled for January 2019.

“This award from the state is huge,” she said. “It allows him to at least not have to live in complete poverty until we get this wrapped up. That’s the value in this kind of statute, as limited as it is. It’s been very difficult for him, and it always is. The trauma he experienced is indescribable.”

If the federal lawsuit goes as Hurwitz hopes, Sanford will have to return the $408,000 to the state. Under the statute, if a jury in the federal case awards him more than the state’s payout, he must return the state money.

If he wins the federal suit, Sanford’s compensation will likely be several million dollars, Hurwitz said.