Baltimore’s spending board is set to vote on Jan. 7 on whether to approve a $14 million settlement for a man who was wrongfully convicted and spent decades in prison in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old in 1986.

Gary Washington filed a civil rights lawsuit in 2019 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore against the Baltimore Police Department and the officers involved in his case.

The meeting agenda for the Baltimore Board of Estimates notes that the passage of time as well as the fact that records are incomplete or missing has made it “nearly impossible” to corroborate or refute his allegations.

Washington, now 64, of Baltimore, was found guilty of first-degree murder and use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence in the killing of Faheem “Bobo” Ali, which happened in Barclay on Dec. 27, 1986.

From the beginning, Washington maintained his innocence.

A 12-year-old, Otis Robinson, implicated Washington in the killing.

But Robinson later recanted his testimony and alleged that detectives threatened him.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Charles J. Peters in 2018 granted a petition for writ of actual innocence and awarded Washington a new trial. Prosecutors in 2019 dropped the charges against him.

Washington has already received some compensation from the state.

In 2024, Administrative Law Judge Ann C. Kehinde ruled that Washington was erroneously convicted, sentenced and incarcerated in the killing.

“Based on all of the evidence, which I have reviewed carefully, I conclude by clear and convincing evidence that the Claimant did not shoot and kill Mr. Ali and was not involved in the crime as an accomplice or accessory,” Kehinde wrote.

The Maryland Board of Public Works later approved more than $2.98 million in compensation for Washington, along with housing benefits.

Gov. Wes Moore apologized to Washington for what he described as “the failure of justice system.”

“We are honored to call you our neighbor as a Marylander,” Moore said. “And we just hope that your tomorrows will be better than your yesterdays.”