Innocent man spent 32 years in prison because of his hair (3 photos)
John Huffington, a Maryland man who was sentenced to death twice for a double murder he didn't commit and spent 32 years behind bars, is suing prosecutors and police officers. 
According to him, the case was falsified. Of the five people involved in his conviction, only one is still alive.
The Washington Post reports that Huffington, now 62, was arrested in 1981 at age 18 for the murders of Diane Becker and Joseph Hudson in Harford County, Maryland.
He was tried twice and sentenced to death twice, despite a lack of credible evidence. 
That all changed in 2011, when a Washington Post reporter discovered an FBI letter sent to District Attorney Joseph Cassilly in 1999, which stated that an FBI examiner had lied in court, claiming that hair found at the crime scene belonged to Huffington. Cassilly never told anyone about it.
In 2013, new DNA testing showed that Huffington could not have been the source of the evidence. The court ordered a new trial, and Huffington was released, and in 2023, he was officially pardoned by Governor Larry Hogan. He was later paid $2.9 million in compensation.
Now, Huffington has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Baltimore against Cassilly (who died in January), his deputy Gerard Komen (who died), three former sheriff's detectives, of whom only one, David Saneman, is still alive, and the Harford County government. The lawsuit alleges that investigators and prosecutors systematically concealed evidence of innocence, harassed witnesses, and built a case on false premises from the start. 
"I spent decades behind bars and never got to say goodbye to my mother. By the time I was released, my father was already suffering from Alzheimer's and didn't realize I had finally been exonerated,"
"The truth about my case eventually came out, but the price was too high."
One of the defendants in the case, who was initially considered the prime suspect, testified against Huffington in 1981 in exchange for a lighter sentence — he spent 27 years in prison.
Huffington also points out in his lawsuit that Cassilly, the prosecutor, had previously been disbarred — a rare occurrence for a prosecutor. The complaint was the reason for the case. The lawsuit also lists five other criminal cases in which Cassilly and investigator William Van Horn allegedly coerced witnesses into giving false testimony.
"These charges were illogical from the start and should never have been brought to trial," said attorney Antonio Romanucci. "Our client has paid a terrible price - decades behind bars, ruined personal relationships, a lost career and reputation."
The case will be heard by federal court judge Brendan A. Hurson in Baltimore.
