{"id":3187,"date":"2026-05-13T15:12:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=3187"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:12:36","slug":"exclusive-austin-to-pay-35m-to-men-wrongly-accused-in-yogurt-shop-murders-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=3187","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Austin to pay $35M to men wrongly accused in yogurt shop murders case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The city of Austin plans to pay $35 million to\u00a0three men and the family of a fourth who were wrongly accused\u00a0in Austin\u2019s yogurt shop murders case, the American-Statesman has confirmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The tentative settlement, reached Tuesday, would resolve claims that Austin police misconduct\u00a0upended the men\u2019s lives for decades\u00a0and sent one of them to Texas\u2019 death row. The agreement still requires City Council approval.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"mb-4\" title=\"youtube embed content\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7xRts_o_GrY\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If approved, the settlement would mark the largest payout in city history and likely require it to borrow money through bonds or loans. It also would rank among the nation\u2019s larger wrongful conviction settlements, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/eNeY2A1cOkfaLkt7P9LT8Q--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY1MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/austin_american_statesman_hearst_articles_361\/e293a5d6a0da292f60eb2a56df77ffe3\" alt=\"Forrest Welborn leaves the courthouse with his mother Sharon Shipman after he was exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)\" width=\"960\" height=\"650\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"9\" data-y-link-id=\"08ja5xi0te45d41u4rdj\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 line-clamp-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div>Forrest Welborn leaves the courthouse with his mother Sharon Shipman after he was exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There is no timeline for finalizing the agreement, but City Council members have met multiple times in recent executive sessions to discuss the city\u2019s strategy. The city also hired prominent Austin attorney Dan Richards to negotiate on its behalf.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement that &#8220;there is nothing I can say to undo past wrongs. We can only mitigate our mistakes with action. I hope the exonerations bring some relief and closure. And I hope that this proposed financial settlement agreement also brings some relief and closure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;This settlement closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin&#8217;s history,&#8221; City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement. &#8220;We are pleased to have reached an agreement with those who were wrongly accused and wrongly convicted in this case and hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to everyone affected by this horrific event.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">By resolving the matter, officials hope to avoid a lawsuit expected to be filed by Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott,\u00a0Forrest Welborn and the family of Maurice Pierce.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/XidBKdDlE02Sl6P5DQiehA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY2NDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/austin_american_statesman_hearst_articles_361\/f2234ab78b276a9227ad77c47479377a\" alt=\"Forrest Welborn hugs a woman after he was exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)\" width=\"960\" height=\"664\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 line-clamp-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div>Forrest Welborn hugs a woman after he was exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Michael Ware, executive director for the Innocence Project of Texas, which is helping represent the men, did not return phone calls seeking comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The two city officials who confirmed the tentative settlement to the American-Statesman requested anonymity because of the ongoing confidential discussions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The proposed restitution comes about three months after a Travis County judge declared the four men innocent in the 1991 murders of Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, Eliza Thomas and Amy Ayers at a North Austin \u201cI Can\u2019t Believe It\u2019s Yogurt\u201d shop. The ruling came after authorities identified the actual killer last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Austin police targeted the four men in 1999 amid mounting public pressure to solve the case. Investigators arrested them after saying Springsteen and Scott had confessed. A Travis County jury sentenced Springsteen to death and spent a decade on Texas\u2019 death row while Scott was sentenced to life without parole.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/P.zDr1hPbqUbYmSNGiRWhw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcwODtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/austin_american_statesman_hearst_articles_361\/9d0faeffcf5444fee73d99fec5c48dc6\" alt=\"Kim Pierce, left, the widow of yogurt shop suspect Maurice Pierce, and their daughter Marisa, listen to a news conference after Maurice was exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)\" width=\"960\" height=\"708\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"12\" data-y-link-id=\"18zckks0jv1z701ucx0v\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 line-clamp-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div>Kim Pierce, left, the widow of yogurt shop suspect Maurice Pierce, and their daughter Marisa, listen to a news conference after Maurice was exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Charges against Pierce were later dropped after he spent three years in the Travis County Jail awaiting trial. A grand jury declined to indict Welborn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In subsequent years, courts overturned the convictions of Springsteen and Scott, ruling their confessions had been improperly used. Prosecutors later deemed the confessions coerced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police announced in September that \u00a0DNA and ballistics testing linked Robert Eugene Brashers to the crime scene. Brashers has been connected to multiple other murders across the nation and died by suicide in 1999.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During a February exoneration hearing, the men and their families described how the case derailed their lives, making it difficult to find jobs, housing and maintain relationships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It is unclear how the three men and Pierce\u2019s estate would divide the settlement money, but Maurice Possley, senior researcher for the National Registry of Exonerations, said factors such as time spent in prison and the extent of pain and suffering typically are considered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The city operates its own litigation fund for such expenses, but the two officials said the city lacks sufficient money in reserves to resolve the matter. The possible loans would not require voter approval, the officials said. The city does not carry outside insurance coverage for the claims.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/cBjlOsYR_R2LDL7WImrCvg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY5NDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/austin_american_statesman_hearst_articles_361\/e883981d79c0f1935b6fb72d21a94d00\" alt=\"John Jones, right, who was the original Austin Police Department detective in the 1991 yogurt shop murders investigation, arrives at the exoneration hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)\" width=\"960\" height=\"694\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"13\" data-y-link-id=\"09k888s14hdas60utoks\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 line-clamp-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div>John Jones, right, who was the original Austin Police Department detective in the 1991 yogurt shop murders investigation, arrives at the exoneration hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing. (Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Possley said cities generally weigh whether to settle wrongful conviction cases or take them to trial, either of which can result in payouts totaling tens of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThe key to any settlement or any litigation \u2014 as opposed to compensation \u2014 is showing there was harm because of bad acts, whether it was failure to disclose evidence or perjury or manufacturing evidence,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to have some evidence to show there were bad acts committed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the early 2000s, Austin paid a combined $14 million to two men wrongfully convicted in the murder of a Pizza Hut manager.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Richard Danziger received $9 million after serving about 12 years of a life sentence. While in prison, he was attacked and suffered a severe brain injury that doctors said would require lifelong care. The city also paid $5.3 million in that case to Chris Ochoa, who also had been convicted in the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Separately, the city has paid about $25 million over the past five years to settle claims brought by more than a dozen people injured during the May 2020 racial justice protests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The city of Austin plans to pay $35 million to\u00a0three men and the family of a fourth who<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3189,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions\/3189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}