(KALAMAZOO) – A Constantine man has been given a financial award after being
wrongly convicted and spending 20 months in jail.

A jury in the U.S. District Court of Western Michigan in Kalamazoo awarded Raymond McCann Jr. $14.5 million for wrongful conviction, after Michigan State Police Sergeant Bryan Fuller violated his Constitutional rights in a perjury case. He was given $12.5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $2 million in punitive damages.

McCann filed a civil lawsuit against the Constantine Police Department, the Michigan State Police and several other defendants. He was a reserve officer with the Constantine Police Department and was on the search team that found the body of Jodi Parrack in the Constantine Cemetery in 2007. He was accused of lying to investigators and was interviewed 20 times.

McCann denied any role in Jodi’s murder, but in his lawsuit, he says he felt pressured to plead no contest to charges of perjury in 2014. McCann was sentenced in 2015 on five counts of perjury and served 20 months in jail. He was released after authorities arrested Daniel Furlong of White Pigeon for Jodi’s murder.

In his lawsuit, McCann says since he was convicted, he has experienced severe depression, and has had trouble rebuilding his life in Constantine.

McCann’s conviction was vacated and dismissed by then St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough (mic-DONE-uh). Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel approved a compensation for McCann who received $40,000 under the State's Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act.