Cheshire Parker Schneider & Abrams Partner Helps Secure Record $75 Million Verdict for Wrongfully Convicted Brothers

Cheshire Parker Schneider & Abrams is proud to recognize partner Elliot Sol Abrams for his role in securing a $75 million jury verdict on behalf of two wrongfully convicted North Carolina brothers. The landmark civil rights verdict, returned in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, is believed to be the largest wrongful-conviction civil rights award in United States history.

In McCollum et al. v. Robeson County et al., half-brothers Henry McCollum and Leon Brown brought suit after spending more than three decades in prison—much of it on death row—for a crime they did not commit. The case exposed years of police misconduct, including coerced confessions, fabrication of evidence, and the suppression of exculpatory information that would have pointed to another suspect.

The brothers were exonerated in 2014 after the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission obtained and tested DNA evidence from the crime scene, which implicated another man who had already been convicted of a similar crime. Following their exoneration, McCollum and Brown filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against officers from the Red Springs Police Department, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

After years of hard-fought litigation, the trial team obtained a unanimous jury verdict awarding $75 million in compensatory damages, along with additional settlement payments, to help the brothers rebuild their lives after decades of wrongful incarceration. The verdict also sent a powerful message about the consequences of official misconduct and the importance of accountability when law enforcement abuses its power.

In recognition of the result and the significance of the case, Public Justice named the McCollum trial team the winners of the 2022 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. Public Justice highlighted the case as a landmark example of civil rights litigation that exposed “egregious” police corruption and abuse and secured a measure of justice for two men who spent decades in prison for a crime they did not commit.

Elliot’s work on this case reflects the firm’s commitment to taking on complex, high-stakes civil rights matters and pursuing full accountability for individuals whose constitutional rights have been violated. Cheshire Parker Schneider & Abrams continues to represent clients in significant civil rights, criminal defense, and wrongful conviction cases across North Carolina and nationwide.