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City council members in Atlanta, Georgia, are considering a $1.5 million settlement for a man who was wrongfully arrested and jailed nearly 14 months for a crime he did not commit.
Keith Sylvester was arrested and booked into jail in Fulton County in December 2018 on accusations he strangled and murdered his mother, Deborah Hubbard, and stepfather, Harry Hubbard, and lit their house on fire nearly six months earlier.
He had all his charges dropped and was released from custody in March 2020 after authorities determined he did not commit the crime.
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Sylvester has maintained his innocence since his arrest in 2018.
“I am innocent and had nothing to do with my mother and stepfather’s death,” he told Fox 5 Atlanta at the time.
The case against Sylvester was called into question when evidence was revealed implicating another suspect, Cornelius Muckle, who has since been identified as the actual assailant, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Muckle’s cellphone was traced to the crime scene, and detectives learned he took items from the Hubbard home two days after the murders. He was booked into jail later in 2020.
Sylvester, recalling his wrongful arrest, said his mugshot “should have never been taken.”
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In the days after the murders, Sylvester attempted to help law enforcement locate the real suspect, posting arson signs in his neighborhood in an effort to hold the killer accountable for the crime, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
The decision by Atlanta’s Public Safety Committee to reach a settlement in Sylvester’s case now heads to the full Atlanta City Council for final approval.
