A man from Kentucky, who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of a teenage girl three decades ago, has been awarded an unprecedented $24.35 million in compensation.
Last Wednesday, Jeffrey Clark accused a police officer and a former coroner of conspiring to keep him imprisoned for 22 and a half years. He was awarded the hefty sum along with $75,000 in restitution, as noted by his lawyer.
After the favorable ruling in his civil case, Clark expressed, “I feel like I’ve finally woken up from a 34-year nightmare.”
In 1995, he and his friend Keith Hardin were found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Rhonda Sue Warford, who was Hardin’s girlfriend.
Warford was discovered dead from stab wounds in a field shortly after leaving her Louisville home around midnight on April 2, 1992.
The police focused on Hardin and Clark, both just 21 at the time, after Warford’s mother suggested her friends might have been involved in Satanism.
Though Clark reported he hadn’t seen Warford since December 1991, he was arrested. Authorities claimed her fingerprints were found on his vehicle.
Evidence was taken from Hardin’s residence, including bloodied fabric and shattered glass. Prosecutors insisted that the glass held significance, likening it to a “holy grail” associated with animal blood rituals.
They worked diligently to tie Clark to the so-called satanic murders.
During the trial, Clark’s ex-girlfriend testified that he had ties to Satanism and even had an inverted cross tattoo. She also mentioned he took her to a location where numerous animal sacrifices were allegedly conducted.
Clark countered that no such tattoo existed on him, though a former coworker claimed he had discussed animal sacrifices in a church setting.
One inmate testified that Clark confessed to the crime post-arrest, which Clark vehemently denied.
Despite prosecutors claiming that hair samples linked to Hardin matched Warford’s, subsequent DNA testing disproved this. Their convictions were eventually overturned in 2016.
Clark’s lawsuit claims that former Meade County Sheriff Joseph Greer and former coroner Bill Adams altered Warford’s time of death.
While the coroner believed she died between April 4 and 5, Adams allegedly changed the official date of death to April 2, undermining Clark’s alibi.
“The defendants accused Jeff of a crime he didn’t commit in his youth,” said Clark’s attorney, Elliot Sloser. “Jeff lost his life and was only freed in his mid-40s.”
Yet, the actual murderer of Warford remains unidentified.
“No amount of money can truly compensate for the profound effects on Jeff’s life and the injustice done to Rhonda and her family,” remarked attorney Amy Staples.
