Correction and update, October 21, 2026: An earlier version described New Milford’s challenge to Ralph Birch’s verdict as unresolved and placed the state settlement in 2019. This revision corrects the chronology, adds the reported payment-plan approval, and distinguishes reversal from dismissal of charges. Two unattributed quotations have been removed because supporting source records were not available for this review. The original publication date is retained.
Ralph “Ricky” Birch won a $5.7 million federal jury award in March 2025 after his wrongful murder conviction. The dispute did not remain at that stage. The New Haven Register reported on June 10, 2025 that New Milford approved a payment plan totaling $7,659,000, including interest. That report establishes approval of the plan; it is not independent confirmation of the date Birch received the money.
From the criminal case to dismissal
Birch and Shawn Henning were convicted in separate 1989 trials for the 1985 killing of Everett Carr. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Birch was 18 and Henning 17 at the time of the crime.
The Registry’s account describes disputed witness testimony and forensic evidence, including Henry Lee’s testimony about towels said to have tested positive for blood. Later testing found no blood on the towel, and the record did not contain a report of an earlier test. These issues became central to the challenges to their convictions.
The Connecticut Supreme Court ordered new trials on June 14, 2019. Birch was released that July. The charges against both men were dismissed on July 10, 2020. Those are separate procedural events; calling both of them an exoneration in 2019 obscures the sequence.
The state settlement and the town’s liability
Birch’s lawyers at Kaufman Lieb Lebowitz & Frick announced the state settlement in September 2023. The agreement allocated $12.6 million to each man, subject to legislative approval. Their announcement identified Birch’s claims against New Milford and two former town investigators as still pending at that time.
The Registry reports that the legislature approved the state settlement in 2024 and that Birch’s separate trial against New Milford resulted in the $5.7 million verdict in March 2025. The state agreement therefore should not be described as a 2019 payment or confused with the later municipal award.
What the chronology shows
Analysis: This case illustrates why coverage should track the criminal judgment, dismissal of charges, civil settlement, jury award, and payment separately. Each answers a different question. Combining them into one event can misstate both the legal outcome and the progress of compensation.
It also matters whether an article reports a party’s argument or a documented result. A town’s challenge to a verdict is not itself a ruling. A reported payment-plan approval is a later development that needs to be reflected in coverage. Readers should be able to identify the date and source for each step.
Sources and scope
This revision relies on the Registry’s case history, the statement from Birch’s lawyers, and the Register’s reporting linked above. The Register is a secondary source for the payment-plan approval. This article does not claim independent access to payment records or provide a complete account of later proceedings.
Have a public record that changes this account? Contact the editorial team with the document and the specific statement it affects. See our Corrections Policy.
