Nationwide — Marcus Sapp, an African American man from Cincinnati, Ohio, who spent 13 years in prison for a murder conviction that was later overturned, will receive more than $506,000 from the state. The payment comes after a court determined he was wrongfully imprisoned and eligible for compensation.
The Ohio Controlling Board approved a $506,717.03 payment after the Ohio Court of Claims ordered the state to compensate Sapp. It marks the first payment he will receive under Ohio’s wrongful imprisonment law.
Under the state’s compensation program, people who are cleared after wrongful convictions can receive money based on the number of years they spent incarcerated. Sapp qualified for about $68,000 for each year he lost behind bars, according to WXVU.
Sapp’s case dates back to 2008 when prosecutors accused him of killing Andrew Cunningham during a home invasion in Cincinnati’s Oakley neighborhood. A jury convicted him in 2010, and he was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.
His conviction was later called into question after the Ohio Innocence Project uncovered new evidence. Investigators found that Cunningham’s roommate, who testified against Sapp, had initially identified another person as the possible suspect before later naming Sapp.
Prosecutors also failed to provide Sapp’s defense team with important evidence that could have helped his case. Some crime scene evidence went missing, and later DNA testing did not find a connection between Sapp and the killing.
In 2023, Hamilton County Judge Jody Luebbers overturned Sapp’s conviction, ruling that prosecutors had violated rules requiring them to share evidence with the defense. Prosecutors later decided not to retry the case, citing the amount of time that had passed and the loss of key evidence.
Sapp’s attorney, Michele Berry Godsey, said the payment cannot restore the years he spent in prison but can give him financial support as he rebuilds his life. Sapp has said he hopes to use the money to start a business in Cincinnati.
Sapp is also pursuing a separate case seeking additional damages for lost wages and other financial losses. He has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Cincinnati and its police department, accusing officials of hiding evidence and using false testimony that contributed to his wrongful conviction.