A jury of eight men awarded $5.7 million to Ricky Birch, who spent nearly 30 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.
A jury of eight men awarded $5.7 million to Ricky Birch, who spent nearly 30 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.
The civil trial marks the end of Birch’s lawsuit against the Town of New Milford and two former police detectives.
While the jury found that David Shortt and Steven Jordan did not violate Birch’s right to a fair trial during their investigation into the 1985 murder of Everett Carr, they did find Shortt liable for common law negligence, and ruled Shortt was aware his actions could cause Birch harm.
Shortt died in 2019.
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Birch and Shawn Henning were both convicted of murder in 1989. Their convictions were overturned in 2019, leading to their exonerations.
During the trial, attorneys for New Milford argued the detectives acted appropriately and played a minimal role in the investigation, which was led by Connecticut State Police.
The State of Connecticut’s $25.2 million settlement with Birch and Henning was approved by the legislature in 2024.
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Henning, who testified during the civil trial, previously settled with the Town of New Milford for $2.5 million. At the time, the town’s attorneys told NBC Connecticut it was a reasonable settlement based on risks, and all parties involved were glad to put this behind them.
In a statement, New Milford Mayor Pete Bass said he will be meeting with the town's attorneys to discuss the verdict, and their plans moving forward including how to pay for the judgement.
