CANBERRA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A former civil servant has been awarded more than 7 million Australian dollars (4.7 million U.S. dollars) after spending 19 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Supreme Court ordered the ACT government to pay the compensation to David Eastman who was wrongfully convicted for the 1989 shooting murder of federal police assistant commissioner Colin Winchester, according to The Canberra Times on Thuesday.
But the 74-year-old was found not guilty of Winchester's murder at a retrial in 2018, after his first conviction was quashed in 2014 due to concerns about the original evidence.
Despite the compensation figure falling well short of what he had been seeking, Eastman's solicitor Sam Tierney said he was "pleased" with the result.
"I think he is relieved and very happy that the court has so promptly considered his matter," Tierney said.
"He would like to now get on with the rest of his life, if possible."
"He's lost a significant chunk of his life and he's obviously got some thoughts in mind about what he might do with it, but we'll have to wait and see."
