Wrongfully convicted man sues Boston after serving 15 years in prison

A wrongfully convicted man who spent 15 years in prison is suing the city of Boston and several former police detectives, alleging they framed him for murder nearly 50 years ago.

Milton Jones, now 73 and living in Bridgewater, filed a federal civil lawsuit this week accusing Boston police of “egregious misconduct” that led to his conviction in the 1975 killing of Roxbury bar owner Albert Dunn.

Jones was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison for Dunn’s death during a robbery at the Golden Café Bar. He spent an additional 31 years on parole.

In the suit, his attorneys argue that retired Boston police detectives, including defendants Louis McConkey, Peter O’Malley and John J. Daley, fabricated “false eyewitness identifications” and withheld key evidence that would have proved Jones' innocence.

The complaint calls the individual officers “serial civil-rights violators” who caused numerous wrongful convictions.

“The officers engaged in this misconduct because they knew they could get away with it,” the lawsuit says. “The BPD systematically failed to train, supervise, and discipline employees, allowing them to violate citizens’ constitutional rights with impunity.”

The lawsuit also alleges the misconduct was part of a broader pattern within the BPD. City policymakers, the suit said, knew about these practices but failed to stop them, thereby "encouraging" officer misconduct.

“Time and again, innocent men were convicted of serious offenses based on unreliable and fabricated identification evidence,” the complaint reads.

Boston police and the city of Boston did not respond to WBUR's requests for comment.

The case against Jones relied entirely on eyewitness testimony. According to court documents, three women were in the bar during the killing, but only one — Rita McLellan — initially described the shooter to police. McLellan first told officers the gunman was about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, but later changed her account after speaking with other witnesses and police officers.

Jones is more than six feet tall. No physical evidence ever tied Jones to the shooting.

Jones’ conviction was overturned in 2022 and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced his office would not seek to retry Jones. A review by the Integrity Review Bureau found "flaws" in the original investigation.

“The facts of this case call into question not only the justness of the conviction, but whether Mr. Jones should have been charged in this incident at all,” Hayden said in a statement.

Jones previously sued the state for compensation relating to his wrongful imprisonment. The state ultimately settled the case for the maximum amount permitted by state law: $1 million.

In his new lawsuit, Jones says he wants to “hold accountable the actors who caused his wrongful conviction.”

Attorneys say Jones is seeking damages for emotional suffering, physical injury and the loss of a normal life — including being separated from his five-year-old daughter when he went to prison.