Wrongly convicted of murder for 5 years, compensated over 200 billion

The decision was made by a jury in a US federal court after it was discovered that the two detectives in charge of the case, Michael Johnson and Maureen D'Amico, had falsified evidence against Jamal Trulove and concealed evidence that could have helped prove his innocence, the San Francisco Gate reported. Both detectives are now retired.

Jamal Trulove. Photo: Courtesy VH1

Trulove was convicted in 2010 but was acquitted after a retrial in 2015. After his release, he filed a lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco in federal court.

Trulove's attorney, Alex Reisman, told KQED radio that his client cried when he heard the jury's verdict, which ordered the city and county of San Francisco to pay him $10 million.

“When Jamal was acquitted of a crime he didn’t commit, that wasn’t justice, that was what should happen,” Reisman said. “But when he won this case, I think he felt like he got some justice for himself.”

On July 23, 2007, Seu Kuka (28 years old) was shot dead on a street in San Francisco. There was only one witness who testified, Priscilla Lualemaga (24 years old), who was also the prosecutor's only witness against Trulove (then 25 years old).

In a ruling issued on February 27, paving the way for Trulove's civil rights lawsuit to proceed, District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said the inspectors had "suggested and coerced" Lualemaga to turn against Trulove.

During the retrial, Trulove’s lawyers brought in additional witnesses to prove his innocence. Additionally, a ballistics expert testified that, based on the angle of the shots fired at Kuka, the killer could not have been seen from the Lualamaga window.

John Cote, a spokesman for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, said the city is "analyzing the grand jury's findings and will determine how to proceed from there." "Our goal is always to ensure that justice is served," Cote said.