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Weighing the cost of New Haven's $38 million misconduct.Last month, a jury in Hartford put a price tag on 21 years of wrongful imprisonment.After a month-long trial and three days of deliberations, the jury determined that Stefon Morant, wrongfully incarcerated for a 1990 double-murder, should be paid $38 million for his time served.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jurors determined that two former New Haven police detectives — Vincent Raucci and Vaughn Maher — coerced witnesses into giving false testimony implicating Morant in the murders as part of a scheme to frame his co-defendant, Scott Lewis, over a drug debt.The jury determined, in essence, that each year Morant spent behind bars was worth just over $1.8 million.They also found that the city’s police department enabled a “widespread practice” of suppressing evidence, putting New Haven on the hook for Morant’s payment, rather than just Maher and Raucci.The city plans to appeal.New Haven's budget for the upcoming year?$744 million — meaning that the verdict is the equivalent of $1 out of every $20 the city has to spend.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Want more New Haven Register?That sum is also one of the heftiest wrongful conviction jury verdicts in American history.A review by CT Insider of a number of recent verdicts found that Morant's lands among the largest by dollar amount.A city of around 140,000, New Haven finds itself in the unusual company of much larger cities like Chicago and Las Vegas.It joins Erie County in New York, which was told to pay $80 million, said to be the largest ever jury verdict for a wrongful conviction.In that case a county prosecutor withheld evidence, landing a 17-year-old behind bars for more than 20 years.Advertisement Article continues below this ad New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said he expects the city to borrow the money in the form of municipal bonds, but that the payment would harm efforts to cover underfunded pensions, pay down outstanding debt and repair school buildings.“To add to all of that financial burden, potentially multiple cases of wrongful conviction at some significant scale, it's a financial burden that is just overwhelming for the city,” Elicker said.In the most recent budget cycle, the mayor used a combination of money from the state and Yale University to close budget gaps, including a projected $13.9 million school district budget deficit.Morant and his lawyers, the jury found, are entitled to just over 5% of that total budget.That’s roughly the same amount that the city has allotted this year for its Fire Department — $39 million — and more than six times the total allotted for the city’s public libraries.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Put the total another way: New Haven (like other cities nationwide) is often playing a budgetary tug-of-war in order to fill the ranks of its police department.CT Insider used last year’s salary numbers as a yardstick to measure the scale of the Morant verdict.For $38 million, the city could have hired 412 police officers at a salary of around $92,000, the median for officers in the department.Over 367 police detectives, like Raucci and Maher, might have been hired at their median salary of $104,000 per year.So could more than 180 Connecticut Superior Court associate judges, although their salaries are paid by the state.Morant verdict may just be the beginning No doubt of concern to Elicker, the city faces six more lawsuits from men — all of them Black — who were wrongfully convicted of murder decades ago.Three are scheduled for trial by next January.Advertisement Article continues below this ad All allege similar facts to those in the Morant case: coerced witnesses, withheld evidence, and an ironclad code of silence that permeated the department.Morant's attorney, Nick Brustin, is also representing two of the other men.While the results in one trial are by no means a guarantee of future payouts for the city, Brustin said that the finding of municipal liability at Morant’s trial would make future liability arguments easier to prove.Each of the men served at least 17 years in prison (except Ronald Taylor, who died behind bars).Three of them served longer than Morant’s 21-year stint.In each case, the men have been exonerated and returned home.And all five of the survivors have already received multi-million dollar payments from the state for their convictions.Advertisement Article continues below this ad While there’s no guarantee other juries reach the same sum, the city could be on the hook for much more if they lose at future trials.If, for example, future juries value the time of other wrongfully incarcerated men at $1.8 million, the total bill for New Haven could grow to more than $260 million.“That money will come from cuts in public schools, cuts in our police department, cuts in our youth services, cuts to our libraries, increased taxes for residents that are already struggling to pay taxes in our community,” Elicker said of that scenario.“Ultimately, what are we trying to accomplish here?” Morant lost a third of his life to prison As the city grapples with how to pay him, Morant’s life has been permanently altered by his time in prison.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Morant turned 58 on the day he testified about his wrongful conviction last month, and has spent more than a third of his life locked up, an innocent man.During the trial, Morant described life in prison as bested by both the constant threat of violence and daily humiliations.He said he had to tie up a sheet to have privacy when using the bathroom in his cell.He said his medical issues were treated solely with Motrin.When he had toothaches, he said the only solution was to have them pulled.In 21 years, he lost five teeth, Morant told jurors.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Morant missed watching his four children grow up.He wasn’t able to visit his younger brother Julian when he was sick in the hospital, and when Julian died, Morant wasn’t permitted to be near his family while viewing his casket.At the trial, his mother, Linda Morant, told jurors that part of her son never returned from prison.“Everyone wanted to see Stefon home, and now he’s home and he’s still not at any peace,” the elder Morant said.“I still wonder how he manages.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad