Wrongfully Imprisoned Man Receives $756,900; Files Federal Suit for $50 Million
By Merylee Robbins
Published on January 20, 2006
Kenneth March was convicted of Buell's death in 1983 on allegations that he had beaten Buell, his girlfriend's 3-year-old son, causing fatal swelling and bleeding in his brain. Marsh subsequently spent 21 years in prison, denying plea bargain opportunities due to his insistence that Buell's injuries had resulted from a fall in the home.
In 2004, doubt of Marsh's guilt was raised by one of the doctors for the prosecution, just as the district attorney had put in a request for a new trial for Marsh. After learning about the possibility of Marsh's innocence the D.A. decided to drop the case.
Doctors working in conjunction with Marsh's lawyers allege that the drug mannitol, administered to Buell during his stay at Children's Hospital, worsened the bleeding and swelling in his brain as the result of an adverse reaction between an undiagnosed blood disorder and the drug. According to these circumstances, Buell may have survived his injuries had he not been given the mannitol.
Based on this new information, Marsh and his attorneys petitioned the California Victim's Compensation and Government Claims Board and were able to recover $100 for each day that Marsh spent in prison, totaling $756,900. This is the largest sum that the board has ever paid out for a wrongful conviction claim. Marsh and his legal team have also filed a federal lawsuit for $50 million naming San Diego Children's Hospital and a coroner's investigator, claiming that both conspired to cover up the alleged medical malpractice that lead to Buell's death.
Lawyers for the defendants in the multimillion-dollar suit deny all of Marsh's claims.
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