On June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson infamously chomped off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the third round of the heavyweight boxing championship.
Nearly three decades later, John Klene and Eduardo Dumbrique — then 18 and 15 — remember exactly where they were when it happened: They were at Klene’s family home watching the fight, surrounded by friends.
But that alibi, with its multiple witnesses, wasn’t enough to keep the teens out of prison when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators wrongly accused them of murder. After 23 years behind bars based on what their lawyers described as “lies” and “made up evidence,” they were exonerated in 2021.
They filed a federal lawsuit the following year. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $24-million settlement for the pair, who are both free now.
“I would trade any amount of money in the world to get my 20s and 30s back,” Klene said in a statement. “The worst thing about being wrongfully convicted for decades is coming to the painful realization that the system isn’t interested in the truth and your innocence means nothing to them.”