A man who spent 20 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit has now received a settlement of $45 million.

The horrors he felt

Roger “Dean” Gillispie, 46, was released from jail three days before Christmas after serving 20 years in prison for rapes he insisted he did not commit.

This was made possible by the tenacious work of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP), run by the UC College of Law. Students and professor Mark Godsey, the director of OIP and a former federal prosecutor, have steadfastly worked on the case since it became OIP’s first case nine years ago.

In Ohio, Roger “Dean” Gillispie was found guilty in 1991 of kidnapping and raping twin sisters who were 22 years old and a 28-year-old lady, as well as committing aggravated robbery.

He was facing a further 56 years in prison but consistently maintained his innocence. After more than 20 years in jail, he was finally able to walk out in 2011.

He wasn’t actually found not guilty of the offenses for which he had been wrongly convicted until 2021, though.

After a judge ruled that “no physical evidence” had ever related him to the case and that there had been evidence suppression, it opened the door for Gillispie to start a civil trial in which he sought compensation for the period he had been imprisoned.

Justice delayed, is Justice denied

The biggest compensation in Ohio history, for $45 million, has now been given to Dean.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that a jury determined that Gillispie’s rights had been violated by investigator Scott Moore, who withheld information that would have aided his defense and exaggerated his size in photographs of a suspect lineup to deceive the victims.

The move was hailed but Mark Godsey, director of the Ohio Innocence Project, who campaigned to liberate Gillispie from his unjust imprisonment, said “nothing will recompense” the atrocities Dean had gone through.

The misery perpetrated on Dean, his family, and the town, he added, was difficult to comprehend.

“It was so upsetting how the authorities pushed for a conviction before fighting back and refusing to acknowledge a mistake. Nothing can make up for Dean’s horror.

“The jury’s decision sends a clear message that individuals in positions of authority ought to alter their behavior,”

Gillispie used the opportunity to demand justice for the thousands of additional individuals who had been unfairly detained and had lived a significant portion of their life in jail for crimes they had not committed.

I’m simply one of 3,199 persons in the United States of America who this happened to, he claimed.

They have accrued more than 28,000 years of incarceration for crimes they did not commit. This needs to end. It’s necessary to fix this system. My life was saved by the Ohio Innocence Project.”

The jury in Gillispie’s civil action, which resulted in a $45 million settlement, found that investigator Moore had falsely asserted that a witness in the case had positively identified him.

Later, after the investigator said the innocent guy had “dyed his hair,” he warned the victims that they would not recognize Dean when they saw him in court.

They were also presented supporting documentation that the investigator had withheld, such as receipts that showed Gillispie was in fact in Kentucky at the time of the crimes.

The eagerly anticipated big-screen rendition of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child might be released soon if the rumors are true.

Ah, what a time to be alive

Jack Thorne’s play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was adapted from an original story by J. Thorne, John Tiffany, and K. Rowling. Nineteen years have passed since the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when the narrative takes place.

The story centers on Harry Potter, who is currently in charge of the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and his son Albus Severus Potter, who is about to begin his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The play is referred to as “the eighth Harry Potter narrative” by Rowling.

For its sorcery, deceptions, and stage wizardry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has won almost universal praise since it debuted.

The Palace Theatre hosted the opening night of the original West End play on June 7, 2016. At the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards, it won nine honors, including Best New Play, and got a record-breaking eleven nominations.

During the 2018 Tony Awards, that production was nominated ten times and took home six prizes, including Best Play.

At the Mehr, the first non-English production debuted. theater on December 5, 2021, in Hamburg, Germany. On June 19, 2022, a Canadian performance debuted at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. On July 8, 2022, a Japanese production debuted at the TBS Akasaka ACT Theater.

The play was initially intended to be seen in two parts over two evenings or on the same day (i.e., in the afternoon and in the evening). The play was restaged in June 2021 as a single, 3.5-hour production in preparation for further performances on Broadway in November 2021.

On February 23, 2019, an Australian production debuted at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. On December 1st, 2019, a second American production debuted at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco.

Shut up and take my money!

The Wizarding World franchise’s production firm, Warner Bros, may be thinking about adapting the two-part play that serves as a prelude to the main story, according to sources quoted by the UK tabloid The Sun.

The Cursed Child is presently being considered for a big-screen adaptation by Warner Bros. They’ve had it in their sights since since the show became such a roaring success on the West End. The Fantastic Beasts franchise was delayed for a long due to the volume of work being done on it.

Although everyone wants Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson to return, the source also told The Sun that the studio needs scripts in place before making an offer to the actors.

The trio was among many other actors and directors that appeared in the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion episode from the previous year.

JK Rowling, the creator of this series, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany worked together to create an original story that became the basis for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The events of the play occur 19 years before those in the concluding Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Quentin Tarantino is getting ready for his victory lap after serving for more than 30 years as one of the most innovative and explosive figures in American cinema. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino has finished writing the script for his tenth and final movie, which is slated to be released this fall and is tentatively named The Film Critic.

The Grand Setting

The Film Critic will be set in the 1970s, continuing Tarantino’s 1969 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s love letter to that decade. Given Tarantino’s well-known passion for the movie industry (he owns Los Angeles’ New Beverly Cinema and released a collection of essays about the industry in November), it only makes sense that he would end his filmography with a film about the medium itself.

A Few Notes

Director’s don’t become better as they age, Tarantino famously told Playboy, explaining why he would quit creating movies after his tenth. Usually, the final four movies in a filmmaker’s oeuvre are the poorest. A win in either category for The Film Critic would be a true Hollywood ending for the 59-year-old auteur, who is all about his filmography and believes that “one bad film fucks up three good ones.” Tarantino has won two Best Original Screenplay Academy Awards, for Django Unchained and also Pulp Fiction, but despite being nominated for both Best Director and Best Picture.

In Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino made his directorial debut in 1992, and he would go on to become one of the most important directors of the modern era. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his most recent film, received ten Academy Award nominations and two wins. We may anticipate learning more about The Movie Critic in the upcoming months as filming appears to be starting soon.