Man freed from murder sentence to sue Milwaukee Police
source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/58493417.html
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A man convicted of a murder now linked to suspected serial killer Walter E. Ellis plans a news conference Thursday to announce a civil rights lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department.
Chaunte Ott spent 13 years in prison for the 1995 murder of Jessica Payne, a 16-year-old runaway from South Milwaukee, before his release earlier this year when investigators linked DNA from the case to Ellis. Police said they believe Ellis had sex with Payne but that someone else killed her.
Ott, 35, of Milwaukee, is now represented by Loevy & Loevy, a Chicago law firm that specializes in civil rights cases over matters such as wrongful convictions and police brutality. The firm plans a 1 p.m. news conference at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.
According to a release from the law firm, the suit will claim that police coerced witnesses to testify falsely against Ott, and withheld information from real witnesses who had seen Payne shortly before her death.
Milwaukee police did not have an immediate response to the claims.
*** Info on the release ***
A Milwaukee man serving a life term in the murder of a South Milwaukee runaway was released from prison Thursday after tests showed DNA found on the victim matched unknown DNA discovered on two other slaying victims in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee County district attorney's office decided not to petition the state Supreme Court to review the case, paving the way for the release of Chaunte D. Ott, 35, from the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage.
Dressed in prison-issued light gray sweat pants, T-shirt and work boots, Ott embraced his family outside the prison Thursday afternoon.
"It's a dream come true. It's a beautiful thing," said a smiling Ott after he donned a Brewers sweat shirt while surrounded by his mother, sister, nieces and nephews.
Chaunte Ott spent 13 years in prison for the 1995 murder of Jessica Payne, a 16-year-old runaway from South Milwaukee, before his release earlier this year when investigators linked DNA from the case to Ellis. Police said they believe Ellis had sex with Payne but that someone else killed her.
Ott, 35, of Milwaukee, is now represented by Loevy & Loevy, a Chicago law firm that specializes in civil rights cases over matters such as wrongful convictions and police brutality. The firm plans a 1 p.m. news conference at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.
According to a release from the law firm, the suit will claim that police coerced witnesses to testify falsely against Ott, and withheld information from real witnesses who had seen Payne shortly before her death.
Milwaukee police did not have an immediate response to the claims.
*** Info on the release ***
A Milwaukee man serving a life term in the murder of a South Milwaukee runaway was released from prison Thursday after tests showed DNA found on the victim matched unknown DNA discovered on two other slaying victims in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee County district attorney's office decided not to petition the state Supreme Court to review the case, paving the way for the release of Chaunte D. Ott, 35, from the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage.
Dressed in prison-issued light gray sweat pants, T-shirt and work boots, Ott embraced his family outside the prison Thursday afternoon.
"It's a dream come true. It's a beautiful thing," said a smiling Ott after he donned a Brewers sweat shirt while surrounded by his mother, sister, nieces and nephews.
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