Back in September 1988, Martin Tankleff woke up one morning to get ready for his first day of senior high. But when he walked into to his dad’s office, he found him bleeding heavily on the floor.

Tankleff, then only 17, called 911, only to discover that his mother was also dead. Bludgeoned and slashed.

A detective arrived on the scene, only to begin accusing Tankleff of murdering his own parents. He apparently made Tankleff give an admission of guilt, but he never actually signed it.

He was jailed in 1990 – but released in 2007, after new evidence emerged which suggested that his father’s former business partner may have been to blame.

Because of the ordeal that Tankleff had gone through, the state saw it fit to award him R35 million in compensation.

I’d like to thank my family and friends, who have stood by me for the past 25 years. I am looking forward to my federal trial, where I hope to expose the misconduct that caused my wrongful conviction so that it does not happen to anyone else.

Sweet deal? Perhaps not.

[Source : Huffington Post]