Board considers $5.7 million homicide claim in private

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Claims Board will consider a former prison inmate's demand for nearly $6 million in compensation in closed session.

Derrick Sanders was sentenced to life in prison in 1993 in connection with a 1992 homicide in Milwaukee.

Sanders insisted he wasn't at the scene. A judge tossed his conviction in August 2018. Prosecutors dropped the charges that September after one of Sanders' co-defendants said he committed the homicide alone.

Sanders has filed a wrongful conviction claim with the state seeking $5.7 million. Such claims are usually a precursor to a lawsuit.

The board decided to deliberate on Sanders' claim in closed session Thursday afternoon. The board's program and policy analyst, Patti Reardon, says Sanders didn't request a public hearing.

The board will issue a decision in the coming weeks.

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