Baltimore approves $11 million payout to wrongfully convicted Anthony Hall

Baltimore’s spending board unanimously approved an $11 million settlement for Anthony Hall, for a case that sent a man to prison for more than 25 years for a 1991 murder he did not commit. The payout adds to the city’s mounting costs from wrongful-conviction and police misconduct cases.

Hall has long alleged police misconduct and coerced witness testimony in the case tied to the killing of Gerard Dorsey. Evidence that had been withheld during Hall’s 1992 trial later emerged, undercutting the conviction that kept him behind bars for decades. The case also involved Gerald Patterson, who initially gave an interview and later changed his account into testimony that helped convict Hall.

Hall’s conviction was undone in March 2023, when he received a writ of actual innocence. The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office then dropped the murder charge on April 18, 2023, leading to his full exoneration after more than 31 years tied to the case. Hall had already received a separate $2.36 million award from Maryland earlier in 2024, and Gov. Wes Moore apologized in connection with the case.

In 2024, Hall v. Baltimore Police Department, Civil No. 1:24-1137-RDB, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland involved disputes over documents and subpoenas in his case.

Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen called the settlement a step toward accountability in policing. He said the $11 million was “enormous,” but “nothing compared to the 25 years this man lost.”

Baltimore has spent more than $75 million since 2020 to settle police misconduct and wrongful conviction cases.