A Kansas man, who spent 23 years behind bars for a double homicide that he did not commit, will be awarded $1.5 million, the Kansas State Attorney General's office announced on Monday.
As a 17-year-old in 1994, Lamonte McIntyre was convicted and sentenced to a double life sentence for the murder of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn. He served a total of 8,583 days in federal prison before being released and exonerated in 2017. Last year, McIntyre filed a lawsuit against the State of Kansas under its mistaken-conviction statute, which was passed in 2018. The law allows those who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned to seek monetary compensation from the state.
During his court appearance before a state Senate committee, McIntyre said, “The State of Kansas can’t give back the 23 years it took from me.”
In addition to $1.5 million, he also received access to state healthcare benefits for two years and a tuition waiver if he decides to attend post-secondary school. All records of his case were ordered to be expunged. Since his release, McIntyre co-founded a non-profit organization called “Miracle of Innocence,” that aims to help others who are wrongfully convicted. He is also a student instructor and co-owner of Headlines Barber Academy in Kansas City. He stated in an interview last year that he doesn’t have any more time to be angry because enough of his life has already been wasted.
Hopefully through his non-profit, justice will be served more often.