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The Chicago City Council voted last month to approve an award of $14 million to a Black man who spent 20 years behind bars for crimes that were "physically impossible" for him to commit.
Daniel Taylor says he was 17 years old when Chicago police officers coerced his confession to two 1992 murders that occurred when he was already in police custody for an unrelated matter. Taylor's attorneys say police hid the evidence that would've exonerated him.
"That is a fear and anguish they put on me that only God knows how I survived," Taylor said, according to ABC 7 News Chicago.
"The City knew Daniel was innocent back in 1992 and they fought to convict him," Taylor's lawyer, Alexa Van Brunt told the news outlet. "They fought his innocence claim and they fought his civil suit for almost nine years."
Taylor was released from prison in 2013 and had his conviction overturned before he filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago. Since his release, Taylor says he's been readjusting to life and is keeping his eyes on the future.
"I look forward to the rest of my life," Taylor said. "I have a seven-year-old who I love."
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