Maryland governor apologizes for wrongful conviction, state awards $3M
On behalf of the state of Maryland, Governor Wes Moore apologized to Marando Warthen a man who spent 39 years in state prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder and other charges in 1984.
“There are no words that can be said or shared to tell you how sorry I am, but also how sorry this entire state is for the way that our justice system failed you repeatedly,” Moore said in February at the state board of public works meeting.
The apology for Warthen, now 62, came with a state-mandated $3 million award as well as compensation for his attorney fees. Sentenced to 103 years in prison, Warthen was 22 when he was initially arrested.
Warthen filed multiple appeals and petitions throughout his decades of incarceration, according to the Board of Public Works. His convictions were vacated in the Baltimore City Circuit Court in February 2023 and he was released a few weeks later.
Warthen said that he appreciates the state's acknowledgement that they got it wrong.
“It really meant a lot,” Warthen said, “because a lot of times with guys that face my same predicament, they never get an apology. And sometimes they’re never awarded any type of compensation.”
Maryland mandates financial compensation for proven or pardoned wrongful incarceration and it is determined by the length of time served and the state’s most recent median income. Restitution also can include housing, vocational training and health care. Since 2023 eight individuals, including Warthen, have been awarded erroneous conviction compensation, according to the board.
Moore said that Warthen’s years in prison were “stolen from Mr. Warthen, depriving him of the opportunity to start a family, to pursue a career, to utilize all of his God-given talents and skills to benefit his community and to benefit our state.”
In his 2011 New York Times bestseller, The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates, Moore tells the story of a man with whom he shares a name who is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The future governor wrote about their similar upbringing in Baltimore and the moments of decisions that led to their different destinies.
Capital News Service contributed to this report.
