Isaiah Andrews’ Estate Awarded $7.9 Million Settlement
Isaiah Andrews spent 45 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He has finally received long overdue justice.
Case Details
Client Name: The Estate of Isaiah Andrews
Case Resolved: July 2025
Outcome: $7.9 Million Settlement
Time Served: 45 years
“What’s important is Isaiah lived to see himself declared wrongfully imprisoned. It’s tragic that he died before he was able to see this through to the end, and it was important to us to continue that legacy not just for him but for his wife.”
About The Case
In 1974, the body of Cleveland resident Regina Andrews was found in Forest Hill Park wrapped in hotel bedding. Based on circumstantial evidence, Regina’s husband Isaiah was arrested, tried, and convicted of the murder of his wife. In 1975, Isaiah started his life sentence, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
Isaiah steadfastly maintained his innocence, but for decades, multiple appeals fell on deaf ears. In 2015, the Ohio Innocence Project reviewed Isaiah’s case and uncovered exculpatory evidence that had been hidden from the defense during his original trial. After finally being granted a retrial in 2021—nearly 50 years after his wrongful conviction and incarceration—a jury in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court took less than two hours to deliver a not-guilty verdict.
In February 2022, FG+G filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Cleveland and the officers involved in Isaiah’s case, citing suppression of evidence and violations of Isaiah’s constitutional rights. Shortly after, a Cuyahoga County judge also recognized the wrongful nature of Isaiah’s imprisonment. Isaiah died in April 2022 at the age of 83—a mere six months after his exoneration.
The fight for justice in Isaiah Andrews’ name continued after his passing. After a judge dismissed the case in 2023, FG+G appealed the ruling. In 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reinstated the lawsuit and in June 2025, the City of Cleveland agreed to a $7.9 million settlement.
Isaiah Andrews’ imprisonment stands as the second-longest known wrongful incarceration in U.S. history and the longest in Ohio.
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