Clevelander David Ayers spent 11 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. But more than two years after a jury awarded him a $13.2 million settlement, he has yet to see a cent -- and it's possible he never will.
Ayers was convicted of the murder of Dorothy Brown and sentenced to life in prison. The world passed him by, his mother passed away, and a jail cell seemed to be his reality.
But the Innocence Project and DNA evidence exonerated him and in September 2011, he walked out of prison a free man.
"Oh my God, it was the happiest day of my life. I didn't know what to do," Ayers said. "My freedom, breathing the fresh air."
Two years after his release, Ayers filed a civil lawsuit against the two Cleveland Police detectives who helped put him in prison. Detective Michael Cipo has since passed away and Detective Denise Kovach retired in 2005.
The city of Cleveland was initially named on the lawsuit, but was dismissed before the case went to trial.
The city has since helped Kovach obtain an attorney and file for bankruptcy, as first reported in a Cleveland Scene article.
A jury awarded Ayers $13.2 million in March 2013. But the question since then has been -- who pays?
"Cleveland would like that to be the question, but it doesn't matter whose name was on the jury verdict. Cleveland has a clear legal obligation to pay judgments against its police officer employees, and they've done exactly that in scores of cases against police officers over the past decade. Mr. Ayers' case is no different," said Ruth Brown, Ayers' Chicago-based attorney.
In a statement to newsnet5.com, city of Cleveland spokesman Dan Williams said, "There is no ruling against the city as it was dismissed from the case prior to going to trial."
Mona Rubinstein is a Cleveland-area bankruptcy attorney that is not connected to this case. She said that if it's determined that the officer is eligible for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge, they would pay nothing.
And, she added, since the city was not named on the lawsuit, it's likely they may not legally be on the hook for the settlement.
"You wouldn't volunteer to pay legal debts," Rubinstein said.
For Ayers, it's simply the continuation of a fight that has not let up since the day he was wrongfully locked up.
"If I'm 80 years old, I'm going to continue to fight because you all owe me. They owe me," he said. "You can't just stand still and do nothing. I mean, they did something. They took 11 years of my life."
Ayers said he will also fight for an apology -- he said he never received one from the officers, the city, or the state for his wrongful imprisonment.
