Neb. to pay $500K for Wrongful Murder Conviction

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning is apologizing to a man wrongfully convicted in the 1955 killing of his wife.

Bruning announced Friday the state has offered a $500,000 wrongful conviction award to Darrel Parker, who now lives in Moline, Ill.

Parker was convicted of first-degree murder in 1956 for the death of his wife, Nancy, in Lincoln. Parker spent nearly 14 years in prison.

Another man confessed to the crime while sitting on Nebraska's death row, and Parker was paroled in 1970. He received a full pardon in 1991.

Parker, now 80, filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the state after lawmakers approved a 2009 law that entitles wrongfully convicted people to up to $500,000.

Bruning says he decided "to do the right thing" and pay the $500,000.

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