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$1.31 Million Awarded to California Man Wrongly Jailed on Murder Charge
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2010
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2010, page 41
On February 25, 2009, a California federal jury awarded $1,310,000 to a man who spent eight months in jail facing a murder charge that was eventually dismissed.
Filed under:
Police Misconduct,
Civil Procedure,
Damages,
Wrongful Imprisonment.
Location:
California.
Shortly after Christopher Shahnazari was shot in Glendale, California on November 1, 2005, he examined a photo-graphic lineup and said Edmond Ovasapyan, 28, …
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More from this issue:
- Prison Health Care, Political Choice and the Accidental Death Penalty in Michigan, by Elizabeth Alexander
- $950,000 Settlement for California Prisoner Rendered Quadriplegic
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Hadix Litigation Winding Down, by David Reutter
- Shortcomings Cited at Virginia’s Civil Commitment Facility, by Matthew Clarke
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- Don’t Build it Here Revisited (or “There is no Economic Salvation Through Incarceration”) - Prisons Do Not Create Jobs, by Clayton Mosher
- $125,000 Settlement in Suicide Death Of New York Jail Prisoner
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Gets $12,500 in Retaliation Suit After Remittitur, by John E Dannenberg
- Settlement in Class-Action Suit Against CCA Modified After PLN Unseals Court Documents, by Alex Friedmann
- Colorado Detainee Tasered During Seizure, Paid $116,731.73 and $83,268.27 in Fees
- Prison Video Visitation Expands into For-Profit Market, by David Reutter
- Sex with Former Jail Employee Lands Texas Sex Offender Back in Prison
- Soft Porn, Bribery and Jailed Millionaire Make for a Dangerous Mix, by Brandon Sample
- California Communities Made Less Safe as Sex Offender Housing Restrictions More Strictly Enforced, by Michael Brodheim
- Texas Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Ex-Prisoner’s Religious Halfway House, by Matthew Clarke
- Former High-Ranking CIA Official Imprisoned for Corruption, by Matthew Clarke
- $2.4 Million Settlement in Children’s Death Caused by California Jail Guard’s Driving
- $1.95 Million Awarded to New Hampshire Guards Falsely Accused of Assaulting Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Guantanamo’s Youngest Prisoner Can’t Be Tried, Won’t be Released, by Matthew Clarke
- Education for Persons in Detention—A Human Right, by Jimmy Franks
- BOP Guard Found Guilty in Prisoner’s Death, Sentenced to Life, by Brandon Sample
- Four Pennsylvania Jail Guards Fired, Two Resign Over Prisoner Beating, by David Reutter
- South Dakota: Prisoner May Enforce Third-Party Kosher Meal Obligation
- Federal Jury Awards $5 Million for Wrongful Conviction Involving Houston Crime Lab, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Upholds $9,063,000 Award to Illinois Ex-Prisoner Exonerated by DNA, by Brandon Sample
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- DHS Ordered to Respond to Petition Seeking National Stan-dards at Immigration Detention Facilities, by Brandon Sample
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- News in Brief:
More from these topics:
- Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Damages, Public Records, Public Records Act.
- Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity, Forensic Sciences, Fabrication of Evidence.
- Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans, Jan. 1, 2026. Prisoner Legal Assistance, Juries, Public Records, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Utah Supreme Court Announces Framework for Analyzing Combined Brady and Napue Violations, Affirms Postconviction Relief in Capital Murder Case, Jan. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Constructive/Imputed/Presumed knowledge, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.
- $6.49 Million Settlement for 600,000 Prisoners in Massive CorrectCare Data Breach Class Action, Dec. 1, 2025. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Damages, Settlements, Privacy Act/Rights.
- SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, Nov. 1, 2025. Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Wrongful Conviction, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency, First Step Act, Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA), Specific Offenses, Controlled Substances, Weapons, Accuracy of Information, Depraved Indifference Murder, Evidence - Circumstantial, Theft, Failure to Disclose, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, New Trial - Motions for, Pleas Linked to Cooperation, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Selective Prosecution/Enforcement, Improper Comments, Official Report, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations.
- $4 Million Verdict Returned in Colorado Jail Suicide Case, Nov. 1, 2025. Damages, Failure to Train/Supervise, Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $45 Million Verdict for Wrongfully Convicted Former Ohio Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Two Exonerated Illinois Prisoners Win Settlements Totaling $14.5 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Wrongful Conviction Claim of Exonerated Maryland Prisoner, State Pays Him $3.1 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.

