Man wrongly convicted of two murders awarded about $10M

DETROIT (AP) — Arbitrators have awarded about $10 million to a Detroit-area man who spent more than 16 years in prison before two murder convictions were overturned.

Mubarez Ahmed insisted he was wrongly convicted of a 2001 double homicide in Detroit. The Wayne County prosecutor's office in 2018 acknowledged that the convictions were fueled by false testimony and other problems.

Ahmed was released from prison that same year and subsequently sued Detroit police, saying his rights were violated.

A panel of three arbitrators, all former judges, recently awarded $9.95 million, attorney Wolf Mueller said.

Ahmed and attorneys for Detroit had agreed that the decision would be binding on both sides.

Ahmed's convictions were investigated by private eye Scott Lewis and the Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school.

“This was a really weak case. ... An eyewitness ID was the entire case against him. There was no other evidence,” clinic director David Moran said in 2018. “She described the shooter as someone of a different race than Ahmed, and there was also an obvious suspect who wasn’t investigated.”