Three years ago, Dean Gillispie of Fairborn won a $45 million federal lawsuit against Miami Township, a former police detective and others for actions that led to Gillispie's wrongful imprisonment. The suit alleged that evidence was suppressed and eyewitness identifications were tainted in the 1991 case against Gillispie.
Gillispie, now 60, served 20 years behind bars before he was freed and his name cleared with the help of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati, former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and Gillispie's mother Juana Gillispie. He is still waiting for payment from Miami Township, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Gillispie was released from prison in 2011, exonerated in 2017 and declared wrongfully imprisoned in 2021.Since the civil jury decision in 2022, the township has been accruing interest on the unpaid settlement. Miami Township officials told the Cincinnati Enquirer they can't afford to pay the settlement.