Man freed after 15 years in prison as he is cleared of child murder charges

Juwan Deering cleared of fire killings because of misconduct by police and prosecutors

Juwan Deering gets a hug outside the courthouse in Pontiac, Michigan, on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, after murder charges were dropped in a fire that killed five children in suburban Detroit in 2000. (AP)

A Michigan man was released from prison after spending more than 15 years behind bars for the fire deaths of five children.

Juwan Deering, 50, saw the charges against him dismissed after an investigation revealed misconduct by police and prosecutors.

Mr Deering will not face a second trial after a judge closed the case after his convictions and life sentence were thrown out.

He has insisted all along that he was not responsible for the fire that killed the children in Royal Oak Township in 2000.

Authorities at the time claimed he had set the fire as revenge for unpaid drug debts, but no witness could ever identify him as being at the house.

Evidence favourable to Mr Deering were never shared with his defence lawyer before the 2006 trial, and jurors were never told that jail informants received benefits for testifying against Mr Deering.

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald dropped the case last week after a dozen law enforcement professionals reviewed it and found insufficient evidence against Mr Deering.

Ms McDonald said that the investigation between 2000 and 2006 had been “totally compromised by misconduct” and that dropping the case now was the “only one ethical and constitutional remedy”.

Mr Deering could now be eligible for more than $700,000 from the state in compensation for the yers he spent behind bars.

“It’s been a hard uphill battle. ... The sun couldn’t shine on not a brighter day,” Mr Deering said after being released.

And he praised the prosecutor for her “exceptional” work in his case.

“I told her it took a lot of strength to step up against the status quo,” he added.

Ms McDonald, who was elected in 2020, reviewed the case at the request of the University of Michigan law school’s Innocence Clinic.