David Morris was just 19 years old when he was convicted of felony murder in West Baltimore, identified because he had a “black coat on.”

The only evidence linking Morris to the murder was the testimony of a witness, who was in a car with two passengers when he saw Mustafa Carter approached by two people near Mulberry Street and Fulton Avenue and shot in the head on December 10, 2004.

Driven around the crime scene by police, the witness spotted Morris sitting on a front stoop and said he was the shooter. Police immediately arrested him.

Morris spent 14 years in prison before the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project brought his case in 2018 to the attention of the Baltimore state’s attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit.

A review by the CIU not only found that the DNA on the victim’s pants did not match that of Morris, but that the key arresting officer had a history of misconduct.

$1.5 Million State Award

Police were given credible information about the identity of another suspect that they did not pursue and which was subsequently not disclosed by state prosecutors to the defense lawyers.

On November 3, 2021, Morris was released from prison, and a year later he reached a $1.5 million settlement with the state Board of Public Works for being wrongfully imprisoned. The award was based on a statutory formula that calculated the number of days he was incarcerated.

“In the best interests of all parties,” the Board of Estimates is set to approve tomorrow a $375,000 award to Morris that covers the 279 days he spent in pretrial detention prior to his conviction.

During that period, Morris said he suffered from personal injuries, emotional distress, economic injury and civil rights violations.

In return, Morris has agreed to drop his lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department and seven current and former officers. The city’s law department recommended approval of the settlement “to avoid a potential adverse jury verdict.”