A man who was wrongfully convicted of sexual abuse won a $340,000 judgment Tuesday, June 18, in Malheur County Circuit Court.
Fredrick Earl Bain, who, in 2009, was wrongfully convicted of sexual abuse by a nonunanimous jury, settled his claim, according to a Tuesday, June 18 press release from the Oregon Justice Resource Center.
Bain, a disabled combat veteran, spent six years in prison and ten years of post-prison supervision, received a pardon by Kate Brown, former governor of Oregon, in 2020 on the grounds that he was innocent of the sexual abuse charges. Brown’s “explicit finding” of Bain’s innocence had the support of David Goldthorpe, Malheur County District Attorney.
Bain’s claim for compensation came on the heels of legislation passed in 2022 authorizing compensation for those wrongfully convicted of crimes. The Attorney General’s Office had opposed Bain’s claim for nearly two years, according to the press release.
“While he was frustrated and disappointed that the office of the Attorney General ignored the Governor’s finding of innocence and treated his request for compensation and the trauma of his wrongful conviction like bargaining chips to haggle over,” the press release noted,” in the end he authorized counsel to seek a settlement.”
News tip? Send your information to [email protected].
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE – The Malheur Enterprise delivers quality local journalism – fair and accurate. You can read it any hour, any day with a digital subscription. Read it on your phone, your Tablet, your home computer. Click subscribe – $7.50 a month.