A Louisville detective’s credibility is being questioned again after two Kentucky men spent over two decades in jail for a crime they did not commit.
They just agreed to settle a civil rights case against the city of Louisville this week for $20.5 million.
In 1992, Keith Hardin and Jerry Clark were wrongfully convicted for the murder of Rhonda Sue Warford as part of a satanic ritual in Meade County.
They were exonerated in 2018 with the help of the Innocence Project and Kentucky Innocence Project, who presented DNA evidence proving their innocence.
“The settlement pretty loudly and clearly represents an acknowledgment by the city of Louisville that Jeff and Keith were completely innocent and wronged through egregious police misconduct,” said Elliot Slosar, a lawyer who represented Clark in the case.
This is not the first time Louisville has had to pay a settlement to an exonerated man.
Much of the lawsuit brought against the city is directed at the actions of retired Louisville police detective Mark Handy, who was convicted in 2021 of lying in a separate case he investigated that ended in another wrongful conviction, according to the Louisville-Courier Journal.
Edwin Chandler spent ten years behind bars before he was exonerated in 2009. Chandler was paid $8.5 million after lawyers proved Handy taped over surveillance footage that would have proved Chandler’s innocence.
Over the course of his career, Handy sent as many as four innocent men to prison.
Louisville Metro Police Department and Handy are accused of working with Meade County Sheriff Joseph Greer to create a “false theory” that Clark and Hardin murdered Warford in a satanic ritual killing, according to the lawsuit.
Handy had a reputation among colleagues as a “closer who could wrest a confession out of anybody.” He falsely reported that Hardin admitted to performing rituals by sacrificing animals and wanted to “do a human.”
“It became the linchpin of the case against Hardin and Clark,” the lawsuit read. “But nothing in the statement was true.”
The lawsuit further states the state police forensic analyst falsely testified that the hair used in the case matched Hardins and that an investigator from the sheriff’s office conspired with a witness to provide false testimony placing Clark and the scene of the crime.
While Clark and Hardin have been free for several years, the settlement will allow them to move forward with their lives, their lawyers said.
“It means I can get started on with my life, because after you do so many years like that, you get out and you have nothing,” said Clark.
Meanwhile, Rhonda Warford’s murder remains unsolved.
“I want to see who actually did this crime,” said Clark. “I want some closure and I want to know who took my life away from me.”
Kevin Trager, a spokesman for Mayor Craig Greeberg, said, “After many years of ongoing litigation, we have reached an important conclusion with this settlement. The criminal investigation involving the death of Ms. Warford is active and ongoing, and we remain hopeful her family will see justice.”
Article written by Alexis Jones.
