He Was Imprisoned for 32 Years for Murders He Didn't Commit. Now He's Suing the People Who Put Him There By Lesley Cosme Torres

A Maryland man who was wrongly imprisoned for 32 years — for two murders he didn’t commit — is suing former law enforcement officials he says put him behind bars.

John Huffington, 62, who was sentenced to death for two murders in 1981, was pardoned by former Gov. Larry Hogan in January 2023, the Associated Press reported. Hogan granted a full innocence pardon to Huffington, citing prosecutorial misconduct, and a Maryland board approved $2.9 million in compensation for him later that year. 

“It took many, many painful years, but the truth eventually came out,” Huffington said in a statement, per the outlet. He added that neither of his parents lived to see his name be cleared of all charges, as he served two life sentences. “I can’t help but acknowledge 32 lost years.”

“All of those years I spent behind bars damaged and strained my relationships, cost me the ability to have a family of my own, cost me the ability to be with my mother when she died, cost me precious time with my father who was in his nineties and suffering from Alzheimer’s when I was finally released,” Huffington told the AP.

Huffington was convicted of first-degree murder for the so-called 1981 “Memorial Day Murders,” where Diane Becker was stabbed to death in her car while her 4-year-old son sat inside with her. Her boyfriend, Joseph Hudson, was shot and found a few miles away, per the AP.

Prosecutors relied on since-discredited testimony about hair found at the scene which reportedly belonged to Huffington, per the AP. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death — but prosecutors later opted to commute his sentence to two life terms. 

Joseph Cassilly, the former Harford County State’s Attorney who handled Huffington’s case, was disbarred in 2021 for the way he handled the case, The Baltimore Banner reported. Cassilly was accused of “discarding evidence, not disclosing exculpatory evidence, seeking to have evidence destroyed and knowingly making false statements to the court.”

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In the lawsuit, Huffington named Cassilly and Assistant State’s Attorney Gerard Comen as defendants. Others included in the lawsuit are former Harford County Sheriff’s Office investigators William Van Horn, David Saneman and Wesley J. Picha, per the Baltimore Banner. 

All of the men named in the lawsuit, except Saneman, are dead, per the Baltimore Banner, who cited the complaint filed. Huffington is seeking a trial by jury. 

“What Joseph Cassilly did in John Huffington’s case was unethical, reprehensible, and we want to hold him accountable,” Huffington’s attorney, Brian Eldridge, told the outlet. “Even in his absence.”