A settlement has been reached between New York city and state officials and two men wrongly convicted of setting a fire back in 1980. The fatal fire itself took place in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn and tragically claimed the lives of a mother and her five children. So far the settlement is estimated at $31 million to settle claims that the two men were unjustly prosecuted.
A settlement has been reached between New York city and state officials and two men wrongly convicted of setting a fire back in 1980. The fatal fire itself took place in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn and tragically claimed the lives of a mother and her five children. So far the settlement is estimated at $31 million to settle claims that the two men were unjustly prosecuted.
So who were the two men, and how long have they had to endure being wrongly locked up? The men are Amaury Villalobos and William Vasquez, and so far they have spent nearly 33 years behind bars on the severe charges of murder and arson. Fortunately for them, their verdicts were “overturned in 2015 in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on the recommendation of the Conviction Review Unit of the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.” There was a third man who was also convicted of starting the fire, Raymond Mora, but unfortunately, he passed away in prison back in 1989.
How did this even happen? What led to the men being accused of starting the fire? Well, accusations began flying around back in February of 1980 when the owner of the townhome that caught fire, Hannah Quick, “told the police at the time that it had been arson and that she had heard the three defendants inside the townhouse just before the fire and then had seen them walk out.” According to Quick, also a drug dealer at the time, “she had been feuding with one or two of the men over drugs.” The three men were later convicted in 1981. It was only years later, on her deathbed, that Quick admitted to her daughter that she had “lied about the men’s involvement in the fire.”
As a result of Quick’s confession, the Conviction Review Unit, lead by Mark J. Hale, began looking into the case. Hale even said “he had no idea how the case had proceeded to trial in the first place,” considering the fact that Quick’s “motives to lie might have included liability for the fire and an insurance payment she received.” Additionally, fire science and experts reported that, despite the fact that a fire marshal testified that “he had found evidence of arson,” there “was no evidence of arson and the fire was most likely an accident.”
Unfortunately for the men, a lot of time has passed since their conviction, prompting Joel Rudin, Mr. Vasquez’s lawyer, to issue a statement saying, “this is a case where the system completely failed these men.” For their troubles, each man will be paid $9.7 million by the city, while the state will pay $5.75 million to each man. In a statement from Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, who has the power to settle claims, he said:
“Following a careful and thorough review of the facts of this case, my office was able to reach a settlement with the claimants that will serve the best interests of all parties. We have reached an agreement that recognizes the years these men spent incarcerated and allows them and their families closure.”
Sources:
2 Men Wrongfully Convicted in 1980 Fire Will Receive $31 Million
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