Las Vegas, Nevada — A federal jury in Nevada has ruled in favor of a woman who spent nearly 16 years incarcerated for a murder she did not commit, awarding her over $34 million in damages. At 18 years old, Kristin Lobato, who now goes by Blaise, was wrongly convicted in the 2001 death of a Las Vegas man. The decision was announced Thursday following a civil trial that scrutinized the conduct of the Las Vegas police and two of its former detectives.
Blaise was visibly moved, shedding tears and embracing her legal team as the verdict was disclosed. Reflecting on her two-decade ordeal, she expressed relief at the resolution but remained uncertain about her future, given the years lost behind bars.
The civil jury concluded that evidence in Lobato’s case had been fabricated by Las Vegas police detectives Thomas Thowsen and James LaRochelle, who have since retired. The jury ordered the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to pay $34 million in compensatory damages and additionally imposed $10,000 in punitive damages on each detective.
The legal representatives for Thowsen and LaRochelle, led by attorney Craig Anderson, abstained from commenting after the verdict. Anderson indicated plans to challenge the jury’s decision, suggesting an appeal was forthcoming.
Lobato encountered law enforcement in July 2001 after Duran Bailey, a homeless man, was found deceased with severe injuries near a dumpster. Despite a lack of physical evidence linking her to the scene and her assertions of innocence, Lobato was charged and convicted based on a supposed jailhouse confession following an interrogation conducted without her legal counsel present.
Her conviction in 2002 was initially overturned two years later when the Nevada Supreme Court cited a breach in her defense’s ability to cross-examine a key witness. However, she was retried in 2006, found guilty of manslaughter along with other charges, and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
It wasn’t until 2017 that Lobato’s fortunes turned. The Innocence Project, together with Las Vegas attorneys, secured her release after presenting evidence to the state Supreme Court demonstrating her presence in Panaca, Nevada—over 150 miles away from the crime scene—when Bailey was murdered.
In a significant judicial step in October of last year, a state court judge formally declared Lobato innocent of Bailey’s murder, a ruling now contested by Clark County officials who are seeking further investigation into the matter.
This case not only underscores the challenges of wrongful convictions but also highlights the ongoing debates about the integrity of law enforcement and judicial processes.
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