John Stoll To Receive $5M Settlement In 20 Year Wrongful Conviction Case Featured In The Documentary "Witch Hunt"
BAKERSFIELD Channel 2 News is reporting:
Kern County leaders have agreed to pay a man $5 million after he was wrongly sent to prison for 20 years. John Stoll was convicted in the 1980s on molestation charges that were eventually overturned. He was featured last year in the documentary "Witch Hunt," which told the story of a string of child molestation cases during the '80s that sent 34 Bakersfield residents to prison.
Every conviction was ultimately overturned, including Stoll's, as witnesses recanted testimony and Kern County prosecutors were accused of using coercive techniques to get children to testify against their own parents.
John Stoll's settlement is $400,000 per year for each year he was in custody, far less than the $1M a year rate that plaintiff's lawyers are attempting to set. As recently addressed, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained that even $1M a year "approach[es] the outermost boundary of what might be thought conscionable" and is "at the outer edge of the universe of permissible awards."
If you were in prison for 20 years, your relationship with your son and family destroyed, and your name smeared, how much do you think that would be worth?
Saw the documentary "Witch Hunt" and my condolences and sympathy go to each person who was wrongly convicted. Kern County should take a much deeper look at themselves.
There isn't a high enough dollar amount to turn back time and undo the pain that this man has suffered. I am outraged and heartbroken for these families. I pray that they all receive boundless blessings and find at least a shred of peace knowing that justice will triumph over evil.