Former MTV Host of 'Unlocking The Truth' Awarded $38 MILLION After Insurance Company Refused To Pay His $11 Million Settlement For Spending 10 Years In Prison For A Wrongful Murder Conviction
First things first, here's the story: This hot, mustached, non-murderer from Missouri is named Ryan Ferguson. In 2001, a newspaper editor was discovered beaten, strangled, and dead in the Columbia Daily Tribune parking lot. For a couple years, the case was cold. Until one day a man named Charles Erickson saw a sketch in the local newspaper of the potential suspect and thought, "Oh dear, that sure does look like me."
He had zero memory of that night. But apparently he raged hard enough that the possibly of him brutally murdering somebody in the midst of a blackout wasn't off the table. Erickson then asked a friend for advice. Turned out that was a horrific idea. His friend promptly turned him into the police.
The cops had their man, but apparently that wasn't enough. Despite Erickson having zero memory of the night, there bering zero forensic evidence pointing to Ryan Ferguson, and Ryan Ferguson being a handsome white man, the police for some reason felt it necessary to coerce Erickson, along with another Columbia Daily Tribune employee that Ferguson was involved in the murder as well. They charged that Erickson and Ferguson robbed & killed the man for "drinking money". Ferguson maintained his innocence, but it didn't matter. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison at 19 years old (Erickson took a plea for a 25 year sentence). They were sentenced in 2005.
After years in jail, and 11 appeals, an attorney finally agreed to take on Ferguson's case pro bono in 2009. Eventually, the witnesses spoke up, recanted their testimonies, and admitted that the police had coerced them to lie about Ferguson's involvement. Ferguson was a free man by 2013.
Once released, Ferguson was awarded $11 million in a settlement after suing the city of Columbia. But he didn't receive his money. The insurance company who was meant to pay him out, Traveler's Insurance, simply refused to do it. They just kicked the can down the road until last Friday, November 1st, when because of their failure to pay Ferguson in a timely manner, a jury decided Traveler's Insurance now owes him a grand total of $38 MILLION.
So naturally, because all I think about is money, anytime I see someone awarded a multi-million dollar payday, I ask myself, "Is that money worth the trauma they went through?"
For example, if I see someone go though a bad breakup, and be offered $12 million in exchange for not talking about the breakup on a podcast, I think, "Holy fucking shit for the love of god yes that is so fucking worth it you would have to be insane to not take that money."
But that's just me. I've said this many times before, but my personal dream is to fall through a NYC subway grate and break both my legs. I figure I spend a year or two of my life in rehab, unable to walk. While my leg heals, I park myself in front of a Playstation and become nationally ranked in College Football 25. And by the time I can walk again, I should be able to cash in a few million from the city and set up a nice little retirement fund for myself. To me, that seems extremely worth it.
Consider Ryan Ferguson. This whole ordeal started for him in 2003. He was 19 years old. His life was more or less hell until the day he was released in 2013. Then for the next 10+ years, I imagine he was at war with Traveler's Insurance. Not nearly as bad as prison, but I'm sure that wasn't a walk in the park either.
So $38 million to have 10 years of the prime of your life stripped away from you, then another 10 years fighting for that money. If you think of that like a job, then in the end, Ferguson was essentially pulling in $1.8 million per year for 21 years. Not to mention however much money he made from hosting MTV's "Unlocking The Truth", following his release.
Would I want that for my non-existent hypothetical son? No. I would not. Would I want that for myself now that I'm 32 years old living in New York and planning a wedding and don't have nearly as much in savings as I would like and am starting to wonder if I will ever actually get to retire someday? Yes. Yes I would.
People dedicate 21 years of their lives doing much worse for significantly less money. People will slave away at a job they fucking despise for 50-60 hours per week for 30-40 years for a fraction of $38 million. Now they do technically have their freedom for the entirety of that time. But to be awarded $38 million at the age of 40? Assuming I'm not being steadily raped and tortured throughout my prison stay, I have to say, I'm taking that deal.
People would kill to be retired by age 40. Ryan Ferguson didn't even have to do that. He just had to be accused of it. Come to think of it, I might sign my future son up for that as well. That's a damn nice way to live the back half of your life. And a pretty cool story to tell at parties.