Municipal council members i Atlanta, Georgiais considering a $1.5 million settlement for a man who was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for nearly 14 months for a crime he did not commit.
Keith Sylvester was arrested and booked into the Fulton County Jail in December 2018 on charges that he strangled and murdered his mother, Deborah Hubbard, and stepfather, Harry Hubbard, and set their house on fire nearly six months earlier.
He had all charges dropped and was released from custody in March 2020 after authorities determined he did not commit the crime.
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Keith Sylvester was arrested and imprisoned for almost 14 months for a crime he did not commit. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
Sylvester has maintained his innocence since his arrest in 2018.
“I am innocent and had nothing to do with the death of my mother and stepfather,” he told Fox 5 Atlanta at the time.
The case against Sylvester was called into question when evidence was uncovered implicating another suspect, Cornelius Muckle, who has since been identified as the actual assailant, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Cornelius Muckle was implicated as the actual suspect in connection with the murders. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
Muckle’s cell phone was traced to crime sceneand detectives learned he took items from Hubbard’s home two days after the murders. He was jailed later in 2020.
Sylvester, recalling his wrongful arrest, said his mugshot “should never have been taken.”
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Sylvester has maintained his innocence since his arrest in 2018. (iStock)
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In the days after the murders, Sylvester tried to help law enforcement locate the real suspect, put up arson signs in his neighborhood in an effort to hold the killer responsible for the crime, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
The decision by the Atlanta Public Safety Committee to reach a settlement in Sylvester’s case now goes to the Atlanta City Council for final approval.