Chicago Pays $10M After Putting Innocent Man Away for 25 Years

Police beat a false confession from Eric Caine

Hours after the Chicago City Council signed off on a $10 million payout to settle his lawsuit, a somber Eric Caine stood in his lawyer's Near West Side office Wednesday surrounded by relatives of other alleged victims of police misconduct.

Caine didn't crack a smile. He said the money could never erase the 25 years he spent behind bars for a crime he did not commit. But he hoped his case brought attention to the plight of other men languishing in prison despite valid claims of police wrongdoing.

"They know they're innocent, but they have little or no way to prove it, and they struggle to get anybody to hear their cries to help them," Caine said in a low voice.