Two men, convicted and later exonerated for rape, announced yesterday they are suing the city of Hammond and local and state authorities for allegedly framing them for rape.
Roosevelt Glenn and Darryl Pinkins spent a combined 42 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of rape in the early 90s. Glenn was later released on parole in 2009, while Pinkins was released in 2016.
The pair have now filed a lawsuit against the City of Hammond, Hammond Police Department and Indiana State Police, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit alleges witnesses were manipulated to testify against Glenn and Pinkins, and that evidence was both withheld and fabricated.
Glenn said he remembers the day he got arrested. He thought he was going to receive commendation for a good deed at work.
“And I was so excited, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s me, I’m Glenn.’ And they said, ‘Get on the ground,’ that’s like a nightmare to me,” Glenn said, “Because I still see that. I had never been locked up, and I thought I was doing everything America was asking us to do, work and pay taxes and obey the laws of the land.”
A spokesperson for Hammond Police said the department has not yet received any official information regarding the lawsuit.