OH Controlling Board approves $3 million for estate of Cleveland man wrongfully imprisoned for 45 years

CLEVELAND — Ohio will pay $3 million to the estate of a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for more than four decades for his wife’s murder.

The Ohio Controlling Board approved the payment to Isaiah Andrews’ estate during its hearing Monday afternoon.

Andrews died in April 2022, six months after he was retried and found not guilty of his wife Regina’s murder.

“This is really bittersweet because he deserves this. He wanted this. I just wish that he could be here.” said Andrews’ attorney, Sarah Gelsomino.

“We hope that this is, once again, a warning call to prosecutor’s offices, to police departments, to do it right from the start,” she said.

Andrews was convicted in 1975.

Regina Andrews’ body was found in Forest Hill Park, which is located on the border of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights, in 1974.

Her body was wrapped in bedding from three different hotels, including the Colonial Inn, where the couple lived, according to court documents.

In 2018, the Ohio Innocence Project uncovered Cuyahoga County prosecutors and Cleveland Police withheld police reports that showed there was another suspect.

Despite his death, the Ohio Court of Claims determined Andrews’ estate had a right to damages last month.

Ohio pays $64,186.92 to exonerees per year in prison.

Andrews’ estate will receive $2 million, which will be divided among his remaining relatives, according to Gelsomino.

Andrew’s attorneys will receive the remaining $1 million.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Cuyahoga County is among the top 10 counties in the country for exonerations.