NY man gets $4.75m after judge tosses ’92 murder conviction

New York (AP) — A New York City man imprisoned for nearly 20 years for murder before a judge declared he was innocent is getting $4.75 million from the state.

Fernando Bermudez told the New York Post in a statement published Tuesday, that “the settlement will never erase the injustice”. It was reached last month.

Bermudez’ conviction was thrown out in 2009, with a judge saying he had “demonstrated his actual innocence”. He’d been convicted in 1992 of shooting 16-year-old Raymond Blount outside a Manhattan nightspot the year before.

Several eyewitnesses identified him Bermudez as the gunman but later recanted. Friends of his testified he was miles away at the time of the crime.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office says he’s “committed to ensuring that those who are wrongfully convicted are compensated”.