BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - The Town of Braintree reached a $14.9 million settlement with Frederick Weichel, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 36 years.
Weichel was convicted of murder in 1980, after the death of Robert LaMonica, and he spent decades behind bars.
New evidence, however, was uncovered in 2010, leading to Weichel being released from prison and exonerated in 2017.
He filed several lawsuits, including against the Commonwealth and the Town of Braintree. Because of a state law, the Commonwealth only had to pay a maximum of a million dollars.
There is no law limiting how much cities or towns have to pay in lawsuits, so the town reached the $14.9 million settlement.
“There are no winners with this case. Mr. Weichel spent 36 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He missed out on the opportunity to have a family, to travel, or to enjoy all the normal experiences of life we take for granted. Mr. Weichel was found innocent and wants to rebuild his life,” Braintree Mayor Erin V. Joyce said in a statement.
“In my judgment, the Town reached a sensible settlement with Mr. Weichel that is fair to him and prudent under the circumstances,” she continued.
To control the impact on our own financial stability going forward, we are aggressively pursuing insurance coverage collections with the help of our legal team, and we anticipate recovering a meaningful portion of this settlement,” she continued.
Joyce added that the town will look into options to finance the settlement, including potential insurance coverage.
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