Current:Home > FinanceInsurer to pay nearly $5M to 3 of the 4 Alaska men whose convictions in a 1997 killing were vacated -Capitatum
Insurer to pay nearly $5M to 3 of the 4 Alaska men whose convictions in a 1997 killing were vacated
View
Date:2025-04-13 12:09:00
Three of the four Indigenous men who served 18 years in prison for a murder conviction that was ultimately vacated will receive a total of nearly $5 million in a settlement confirmed by the city of Fairbanks on Monday.
The convictions of the so-called Fairbanks Four in the 1997 death of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman were vacated in 2015 after a key state witness recanted testimony and following a weeks-long hearing reexamining the case that raised the possibility others had killed Hartman.
The men — George Frese, Eugene Vent, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease — argued that an agreement that led to their release in which they agreed not to sue was not legally binding because they were coerced. The men also maintained there was a history of discrimination against Alaska Natives by local police. Pease is Native American; Frese, Vent and Roberts are Athabascan Alaska Natives.
The legal fight over whether the men could sue the city despite the agreement has gone on for years. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case after a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in their favor.
Pease, Frese and Vent will each receive $1.59 million from the city’s insurer, according to a statement provided by Fairbanks city attorney Tom Chard. Roberts declined a settlement offer and his case is still pending, the statement said.
An attorney for Roberts did not immediately reply to an email sent Monday.
The city’s statement said the decision to settle was made by its insurer, Alaska Municipal League Joint Insurance Association. The association’s executive director did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The statement said the settlement “is not an admission of liability or fault of any kind,” and the city declined further comment about it.
A federal judge in late September signed off on a request by the parties to have the case involving Pease, Frese and Vent dismissed. The settlement agreement was reported last week by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Thomas Wickwire, an attorney for Frese and Pease, declined comment on the matter, citing Roberts’ pending case.
Terms of the settlement with each of the three men included a “non-publicity” clause in which the men and their attorneys agreed to not make public statements about the case until claims by all the men are resolved.
A state court judge in 2015 approved terms of a settlement that threw out the convictions of the four men, who had maintained their innocence in Hartman’s death. Alaska Native leaders long advocated for the men’s release, calling their convictions racially motivated.
The Alaska attorney general’s office at the time said the settlement was “not an exoneration” and called it a compromise that “reflects the Attorney General’s recognition that if the defendants were retried today it is not clear under the current state of the evidence that they would be convicted.”
veryGood! (21)
Related
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Chelsea Houska Reveals How Daughter Aubree Found True Confidence On and Off Camera
- The Tragically Similar Fates of Bobbi Kristina Brown and Her Mom Whitney Houston
- Channel Nature Into Your Wardrobe With The Fashion-Forward Gorpcore Trend
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- TikTok CEO faces intense questioning from House committee amid growing calls for ban
- Credit Suisse shares slide after rival UBS buys it for $3.2 billion
- Proof Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin Are Still Hollywood's Most Amicable Exes
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Transcript: Rikki Klieman, Bill Bratton and Robert Costa Face the Nation panel, March 26, 2023
Ranking
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Vanderpump Rules Star Lala Kent Slashes Price on Raquel Leviss Makeup Collab: EVERYTHING MUST GO
- Monarch butterfly presence in Mexican forests drops 22%, report says
- What's behind the escalating strikes, protests and violence in Israel?
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- 3 human heads found in Ecuador province plagued by drug trafficking
- King Charles III visit to France delayed by protests as anger mounts over Macron's pension reforms
- Revolve's One-Day Only Sitewide Anniversary Sale Has the Trendiest Spring Styles
Recommendation
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
Matthew Lawrence Gushes About Relationship With Amazing Chilli After Cheryl Burke Divorce
Kim Kardashian Jokes That Son Saint Is “Not as Cute as I Thought” After He Pulled This Move
The Tragically Similar Fates of Bobbi Kristina Brown and Her Mom Whitney Houston
Bodycam footage shows high
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey slasher film pulled from Hong Kong cinemas
North Korea says latest missile test was nuclear counterstrike simulation
Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $330 Shoulder Bag for Just $75