Brickbat: The Wrong Man

The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $1.75 million to Louis Wright, who spent 35 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl. Wright's conviction was overturned after DNA results ruled him out as the suspect. Police targeted Wright for the crime after an off-duty police officer claimed to have seen him in the area around the time of the attack. They claim he confessed, but the interview was not recorded and he did not sign a confession. The girl was never asked to identify him. Wright pleaded no contest to the assault. He tried to withdraw that plea at sentencing but a judge refused to allow it.