Brothers Awarded $750K Each After Wrongful Convictions Overturned

Two North Carolina brothers are finally receiving compensation, three decades after they were wrongfully convicted in the killing of an 11-year-old girl. They were awarded $750,000 each on Wednesday by the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Henry McCollum, 51, was given the money on behalf of himself and his half-brother, Leon Brown, 47, who is in the hospital and could not attend.

McCollum and Brown were released in September 2014 after a judge vacated their convictions, citing new DNA evidence that points to another man in the killing and raping of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie in 1983. McCollum had been the longest-serving inmate on North Carolina's death row. Brown had been sentenced to life in prison.

In the months since their release, both men have had trouble adjusting to the outside world after spending most of their adult lives in prison. Money has been a problem, but McCollum told The Associated Press in June that the most important part of the pardon was having his name cleared. 

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