FERNDALE, Mich. — A Michigan man who was exonerated after 45 years in prison is trying to raise money by selling what kept him stable behind bars: his paintings.
Richard Phillips could be eligible for more than $2 million under a Michigan law that compensates the wrongly convicted, but the state so far is resisting. So he’s displaying roughly 50 watercolours at a Detroit-area gallery and is willing to sell them.
There are landscapes, portraits of famous people, vases of flowers and musicians. The 73-year-old Phillips says he made more than 400 paintings while in prison.
Phillips was cleared last year of a 1971 homicide after an investigation by law students and the Wayne County prosecutor’s office.
Phillips says his paintings are precious to him but he has no choice: He needs money.
Ed White, The Associated Press
