Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner
In a decision that upheld a lower court ruling, the Michigan Court of Appeals said on December 22, 2025, that exonerated former state prisoner Desmond Ricks must use a $7.5 million settlement from a civil suit filed over his wrongful conviction to repay over $1.2 million that he was awarded under the state’s Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act (WICA), MCL 691.1751 et seq.
Ricks was 51 in June 2017 when he was exonerated and released from prison, after serving 24 years and 226 days for the 1992 murder of his friend, Gerry Bennett, 21—a killing that Ricks observed from the parked car that he and Bennett took to the restaurant where the latter was gunned down by an unknown assailant. Detroit cops arrested Ricks for the murder days later, after confiscating a pistol that Ricks’ mother kept under her pillow and matching it to the bullets that killed Bennett. Based on that ballistics match, Ricks was accused, tried and convicted of the slaying. There was just one problem: The bullets that cops gave the ballistics expert who made the match did not come from Bennett’s body.
It was not an innocent mistake, but it was one that robbed an innocent man of a quarter century of his life. After an audit by State Police (MSP) found numerous such deficiencies, the city’s crime lab was shut down in 2008. Ricks’ case then caught the eye of attorneys with the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic, and in 2015, they obtained photos of the bullets that were taken from Bennett’s corpse. When shown to retired MSP ballistics expert David Townsend, who originally confirmed the match at Ricks’ trial, he responded that the bullets in the photos did not match those he was given to analyze decades earlier—invalidating the conclusion that had convicted and imprisoned Ricks.
After that bombshell revelation, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office joined motions to release Ricks and vacate his conviction, which were granted in May and June 2017, respectively. All charges against him were then dropped. The WICA entitled him to recover $1.25 million—$50,000 for every year that he was wrongfully incarcerated. But Ricks understandably wanted more. With the aid of attorneys from Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Giroux & Harrington, P.C. in Southfield, he filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against the City and two former police officials: evidence technician David Stauch, who testified that the bullets which killed Bennett matched those from Ricks’ gun “like a fingerprint”; and Det. Donald Stawiasz, who assured Townsend that the bullets used to make the match were the same ones pulled from the body.
Two Offsetting Payouts
Detroit Police Department Chief James Craig promised an investigation into the incident, but it was unclear if that ever happened. Meanwhile, the district court refused to grant qualified immunity to Stawiasz, Stauch and the supervisor who signed off on his report, Robert Wilson. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed that refusal on interlocutory appeal on October 13, 2021. See: Ricks v. Pauch, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 30978 (6th Cir.). The parties then proceeded to reach a settlement agreement in August 2022, with the City paying Ricks and his attorneys $7.5 million to settle all claims. See: Ricks v. Pauch, USDC (E.D. Mich.), Case No. 2:17-cv-12784.
After his exoneration, Ricks also filed for payment under WICA. But a dispute arose over the amount he was due. Ricks’ conviction also violated his conditions of parole from an earlier sentence, meaning the first four years and 118 days he was imprisoned actually counted toward completion of that paroled term. The state argued that he would have to be exonerated from that conviction in order to pick up payment for any time served toward it. Again with the aid of attorneys from Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Giroux & Harrington, Ricks sued and won a court order for the state to pay him for the time. The state appealed but lost—twice—at the Court of Appeals and then before the Supreme Court on July 8, 2021. See: Ricks v. State, 507 Mich. 387 (2021).
It was that case which the state successfully moved to reopen when it returned to court a year later, after Ricks settled his other suit against Detroit, demanding repayment of $1,231,814.08 that he had collected under WICA. The state court of claims agreed with Defendants that the WICA statute clearly makes any payout “subject to setoff or reimbursement for damages obtained for the wrongful conviction or imprisonment from any other person.” Ricks appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, but it agreed and upheld the lower court’s ruling. See: Ricks v. State, Mich., Case No. 369531 (per curiam).
Though a setback for Ricks, the decision is not surprising. Michigan has more exonerated prisoners than all but four other states, according to a 2017 report by the Detroit Free Press. There are so many, in fact, that the fund to make WICA payouts has repeatedly run dry, resulting in relief for just 68% of those who filed claims, as PLN has reported. [See: PLN, Apr. 2020, p.20.; and July 2024, p.39.]
Additional source: Detroit Free Press
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
Related legal cases
Ricks v. Pauch
| Year | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (E.D. Mich.), Case No. 2:17-cv-12784 |
| Level | District Court |
Ricks v. Pauch
| Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 30978 (6th Cir.) |
| Level | Court of Appeals |
Ricks v. State
| Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 507 Mich. 387 (2021) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
Ricks v. State, Mich
| Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Case No. 369531 |
| Level | State Supreme Court |