CLEVELAND, Ohio - The attorneys for two Cleveland men who spent nearly 15 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit, are filing a federal civil rights lawsuit on their behalf Wednesday.
The lawsuit is being filed exactly one year after Michael Sutton and Kenny Phillips were found not guilty of all charges in their re-trial in front of Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge John O’Donnell. Attorneys with the law firm of Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein said they are also suing the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
Phillips and Sutton were charged in 2006 for shooting at Cleveland police officers on the city’s East side. They were both under the age of 21 at the time. Phillips was sentenced to over 92 years in prison and Sutton was sentenced to more than 46 years in prison.Attorneys with the Ohio Innocence Project took an interest in the case and in April 2021, the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals granted both Sutton and Phillips the right to a new trial, citing lack of evidence, and in May 2021, the men were released from prison on bond.