DAYTON, Ohio — A man who was wrongfully convicted in Ohio has been awarded $45 million by a federal jury, the largest civil rights award in Ohio history.

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According to WHIO, Roger Dean Gillispie served 20 years in prison for the kidnapping and rape of three women in Miami and Harrison townships that he did not commit. He was exonerated in 2011 after a federal court found that key evidence had been withheld by the state. That key evidence would have led to Gillispie getting acquitted, but it was not presented to the juries in either one of his two trials.

Last December, a Montgomery County judge formally declared Gillispie wrongfully imprisoned by the state of Ohio, according to WHIO.

According to WHIO, a federal jury in Ohio reportedly found that a former Miami Township police detective “unconstitutionally suppressed evidence.” That suppressed evidence would have cleared Gillispie.

On Monday, Gillispie was awarded $45 million, according to WHIO. It became the largest civil rights award in Ohio state history.

Nov. 21′s decision could be appealed, according to WHIO.

No further information has been released.

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