$380K for wrongfully imprisoned Cleveland man Darrell Houston

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A legislative panel will consider a partial payment later this month of nearly $380,000 for a wrongfully imprisoned Cleveland man.

A Cuyahoga County judge declared last year that Darrell Houston had been wrongfully imprisoned after being convicted in 1992 on aggravated murder and aggravated robbery charges.

The Ohio Court of Claims ordered the payment which is before the Ohio Controlling Board on Jan. 28.

Houston will receive an equivalent second payment if he settles his claim with the state or prevails if his case goes to trial.

Court of Claims clerk Mark Reed says Houston's partial payment is the first to be processed within 60 days of the individual's release from prison since lawmakers changed the law to speed up wrongful imprisonment payouts.