Marquis Jackson’s life was forever changed when his father, an Air Force veteran, passed away in 2005 believing that his son was a criminal. This belief was rooted in a tragic sequence of events that began on January 24, 1999, when three masked men stormed into a deli in New Haven, Connecticut. The incident resulted in the death of a customer and the wounding of a cashier. Jackson, then just 19 years old, was identified by police as one of the suspects. Despite his consistent denial of involvement in the crime, he was convicted of murder in 2000 and spent more than 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. His father, who had dedicated his life to serving the country, struggled to reconcile the idea that the U.S. legal system could wrongly accuse his son. “He figured that the government wouldn’t do that to somebody,” Jackson reflected. Yet, the government did, and Jackson’s father died before seeing his son’s name cleared.
In 2018, Jackson’s life took a dramatic turn when new evidence led to the dismissal of the charges against him. He was released from prison, and the state of Connecticut began the process of compensating him for the years he lost. The judiciary committee of the Connecticut General Assembly recently approved a $5.3 million settlement for Jackson, marking a step toward justice, though it can never fully restore the years he lost. Jackson’s friend, Vernon Horn, who was also wrongfully convicted for the same crime, was approved for a $4.8 million settlement. Both men are expected to receive their payments in the coming months, according to State Sen. Gary Winfield, chair of the legislature’s judiciary committee. A third man, Stefon Morant, another Black New Haven resident, was also approved for a $5.8 million settlement for his wrongful incarceration for murder. Combined, the three settlements amount to $15.9 million, a staggering sum that reflects the gravity of the state’s errors.
The cases of Jackson, Horn, and Morant highlight systemic issues within the criminal justice system, particularly the role of flawed investigations and prosecutions. In Jackson and Horn’s case, their convictions were based on phone records from a stolen cellphone, witness testimony, and the fingerprints of an alleged accomplice who implicated them. However, during the appeals process, it was discovered that a New Haven detective had withheld 137 pages of telephone records—evidence that proved neither Jackson nor Horn could have committed the crime. This critical omission, along with what attorneys described as “investigative misconduct,” led to the dismissal of their sentences in 2018. Prosecutor Patrick Griffin acknowledged that the state could not retry the case, leaving Jackson and Horn innocent men who had lost nearly two decades of their lives. Jackson described the investigation as flawed from the start, saying, “Instead of trying to follow the evidence, they made the evidence follow their assumptions.”
Stefon Morant’s case further underscores the troubling pattern of wrongful convictions in Connecticut. Morant was convicted in 1990 for the murders of two people in New Haven and spent 21 years in prison before being released in 2015 and later pardoned in 2021. His exoneration came after the Connecticut Innocence Project presented evidence that failed to link his DNA to the crime scene. Additionally, it was revealed that a detective had allegedly manipulated Morant’s audio statement and intimidated witnesses. Attorney Ken Rosenthal, who represented both Jackson and Morant, called Morant’s wrongful incarceration “the result of extraordinary misconduct on the part of law enforcement officials and false testimony brought about at their behest.” The FBI had conducted an extensive investigation following Morant’s conviction, uncovering the depth of the wrongdoing that led to his imprisonment. Morant’s case is a stark reminder of how prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct can deprive innocent people of their freedom.
The settlements for Jackson, Horn, and Morant are part of a growing backlog of wrongful conviction cases in Connecticut. The state’s judiciary committee recently considered eight such cases, representing the largest number of people and the highest dollar amount to come before the legislature since the state established its wrongful conviction statute in 2008. Five of these cases were remanded for further review by the state’s Claims Commissioner. While Connecticut’s laws have evolved over the years—most recently in 2024, when the legislature expanded eligibility to include those released due to “grounds consistent with innocence”—the process remains slow and cumbersome. Rep. Craig Fishbein, a Republican member of the judiciary committee, acknowledged that the backlog stems from claims not being processed in the past. He expressed optimism that such large-scale payouts are unlikely to recur in the future, but the current cases highlight the enduring impact of past failures.
The story of these three men also sheds light on the broader issue of racial disparities in wrongful convictions. According to a 2022 report from the National Registry of Exonerations, innocent Black people are approximately 7.5 times more likely to be convicted of murder than innocent White people. Nearly 60% of the people exonerated through the efforts of the Innocence Project since 1992 are Black. Jackson, Horn, and Morant’s cases are not isolated incidents but part of a systemic pattern of injustice that disproportionately affects communities of color. Their stories are a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of accountability in the criminal justice system. For Jackson, who now owns a used car dealership and is raising two young daughters, the settlement offers a chance to secure their financial future. Yet, he remains haunted by the years he lost and the pain his family endured. “I don’t think anything could ever replace the agony that I had to go through,” he said. “I went in as a young man at 19. I came out 39.” Despite his newfound freedom, Jackson carries the weight of his past with him, determined to honor his father’s legacy and build a better future for his daughters.
