WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois man who was awarded $20 million after he was wrongfully convicted in the death of an 11-year-old Waukegan girl may have to split the money as part of a divorce case.
Juan Rivera was imprisoned for 20 years before DNA evidence cleared him of Holly Staker’s killing, the Chicago Tribune reports. Now an Illinois appeals court has ruled that the settlement proceeds are “marital property.”
Rivera’s attorney Michael Berger says the ruling is a further injustice to his client and that he intends to take the case to the state Supreme Court.
If the ruling stands, the trial lawyer in the divorce could determine how much of the settlement money Melissa Sanders-Rivera, Rivera’s estranged wife, will receive.
Rivera filed for divorce in July 2014, two and a half years after his release.
