Facing the possiblity of a jury trial whose outcome could have cost Peekskill millions of dollars, the Common Council has voted to pay Marc Douglas $2.5 million to settle his wrongful imprisonment federal lawsuit.

The Council approved a resolution added at the last minute at its Feb. 23 meeting that ends the lawsuit without admitting any “liability or wrongdoing” in the case. The vote was 6-0 in favor with Mayor Vivian McKenzie abstaining.

The city will borrow $1.8 million via a bond to pay a portion of the settlement. The other $700,000 will be paid by Harco, the city’s insurer in 2006 at the time of Douglas’s arrest and conviction. Attorneys for Douglas were seeking as much as $15 million had the case gone to a jury trial, which was scheduled to begin on March 2. [See related story]

Douglas was arrested by Peekskill police in 2006 on burglary and assault charges, convicted at a jury trial and served 14 years in state prison. He was released from the Otisville Correctional Facility in 2020 after a judge ruled he deserved a new trial.

His attorney Arthur Larkin said Douglas is relieved to have the case resolved.

“No amount of money is going to compensate a person for time lost in prison,” Larkin told the Herald. “But at least Marc will have something to help him get his life back on track. I think he is very happy with the settlement and the closure. It’s behind him now and he can look forward. I think that’s what’s most important in these cases.”

Appealing the Verdict, Winning Vindication

Douglas consistently proclaimed his innocence and filed several claims in court, starting with the appeal handled by celebrity attorney Ron Kuby. That appeal was denied by the New York State Court of Appeals in 2009.

Then in 2018, attorney Arthur Larkin with Hale & Monico LLC agreed to take the case. “My involvement came through Jeff Deskovic and his Deskovic Foundation that handles wrongful conviction claims,” Larkin told the Herald. “We took the case pro bono and uncovered evidence that we thought indicated that the DA intervened to help Jerry Newton [a witness] get a more lenient sentence on his own cases, which is why Jerry Newton testified against Marc at the trial.”

After two years of investigations and court filings, Larkin finally won Douglas his release from Otisville Correctional Facility. Larkin then filed the federal civil rights lawsuit against Peekskill. “We have the burden to proof that he was maliciously prosecuted and that an officer denied his fair trial rights,” Larkin said.

In a May 2020 ruling, Westchester Judge David Zuckerman wrote, “The evidence presented by the People at trial was not overwhelming. Particularly, only one witness, Newton, identified the defendant as the shooter. There was no forensic evidence connecting the Defendant with the crimes. This, coupled with the documented evidence of a possible leniency agreement and concededly withheld information regarding Newton’s criminal actions, compels the court to order a hearing …”

Prosecutors then decided not to retry him. The Westchester County District Attorney “… moved to vacate the conviction and dismiss the indictment on the grounds that Douglas’ due process rights were violated, and that the People could not prove his guilt at any retrial,” according to court papers.

Larkin’s firm worked for Douglas pro bono to get the case vacated on appeal. The firm will  now be paid a fee from the settlement with Peekskill.

Deskovic Foundation Helps Douglas Win His Freedom

Jeffrey Deskovic made a false confession to Peekskill police after lengthy interrogation in the 1989 murder and rape of a Peekskill High student. He was convicted by a jury, served 16 years in state prison, protesting his innocence throughout, and was released after winning an appeal and ultimately exonerated.

He won settlements totalling $21 million from Peekskill, Westchester County and Putnam County and went on to receive his law degree from Pace University. With a portion of the money, he founded the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice.

Deskovic told the Herald he understands the trauma that Douglas has endured.

“Shortly after starting The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice to free people in the same position I was once in, we identified Marc’s case as a likely wrongful conviction case that could be won,” Deskovic said in an email. “After doing some work on his case, we turned it over to Arthur Larkin of the Hale & Monico law firm to work the case while we consulted with him.”

Helping to overturn a wrongful conviction and bring some compensation to its victim is one of the missions of his Foundation.

“I know first hand how important a tool [a settlement] is to trying to rebuild your life after the traumatic experience of being wrongfully imprisoned, so I am happy that Marc got compensated. At the same time, I think it’s important to keep in mind that no amount of money is worth being wrongfully imprisoned.”

Deskovic cites this case along with his and one other as a possible indication there could be others wrongfully convicted through Peekskill cases.

“I feel particularly good at having had a hand in helping another Peekskill resident get exonerated. There should be an investigation to see if other Peekskill residents are trapped in prison. As an advocate involved in innocence work, I will say that it is unlikely that a certain detective is only involved in this one wrongful conviction case.”

Judge Rules in Favor of City in Another Lawsuit

In a separate lawsuit filed against the city by a former employee, attorneys for Peekskill won a favorable ruling that could limit any potential damages.

In her Feb. 2 decision, Judge Nancy Quinn Koba determined that the former employee, Brian Raphael, is not entitled to money for pay he would have earned, civil penalties and damages. The judge also ruled that Raphael will not have his case presented to a jury. 

Raphael, a former probationary Assistant Water & Sewer Superintendent, was terminated in September 2021 by the City of Peekskill because he “… failed[ed] to follow a directive of Water + Sewer Superintendent to physically supervise on-site contractor,” according to court papers.

In a May 2021 memo, Dave Rambo, Superintendent of Public Works, pointed to deficiencies in Raphael’s work. “Even after three years in the position there is a lack of understanding the management aspects of the Water and Sewer Department,” Rambo wrote. “When the department is faced with a technical or operational challenge, Brian does not provide a well thought out solution.”

In his lawsuit against the city, Raphael’s attorneys, however, alleged that he was wrongfully fired because he made constant complaints about what he called unsafe conditions that Public Works employees had to endure. Matters came to a head in August of 2021 when Raphael reported the alleged safety violations to the New York state Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) department.

Raphael won his original case when the city’s Corporation Counsel at the time failed to respond in the required time period. The city won an appeal to reverse that default judgment but Raphael’s attorney appealed that decision and reinstated the default judgment. Raphael is seeking $6 million.