Agreement reached in wrongful imprisonment

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BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A settlement between Lynn DeJac, a Buffalo, N.Y., woman wrongfully convicted of killing her daughter, and New York state has been reached, her lawyer said.

The amount of the settlement was $2.7 million, the Buffalo, N.Y., News reported Tuesday.

DeJac, now Lynn DeJac Peters, filed a claim against the state after being released from prison in November 2007, following 14 years behind bars after her conviction in the 1993 strangling death of her daughter, then-13-year-old Crystallyn Girard. DeJac was freed from prison after a new autopsy concluded Crystalynn died of a cocaine overdose, the newspaper said.

Her conviction was thrown out after DNA evidence from the girl and from her bedroom pointed to DeJac's boyfriend at the time, Dennis Donohue, as a suspect, WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, reported, adding Donohue is currently serving a prison sentence for a separate murder.

The state Attorney General's Office and DeJac's attorney, Steven Cohen, had been millions of dollars apart on agreement of an appropriate settlement, the newspaper said.

"We have reached what we consider to be a fair settlement for the state's role in this injustice. We still have suits against the County of Erie (N.Y.) and the City of Buffalo for their greater and active participation in Lynn's wrongful incarceration," Cohen said Tuesday.