Originally Published: 29 JUN 23 08:31 ET

By LUKE LASTER

DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) -- A Detroit man files a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Detroit for wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

The now 37-year-old Kenneth Nixon joined his lawyers, family members, and a team of other men who faced similar situations and are calling for justice.

"Not only did he serve 16 years but so did I, so did my children, we all suffered," says Nixon's mother, Tracy Nixon.

"I sit in this seat today to represent change," says Kenneth Nixon at a press conference announcing the lawsuit Wednesday afternoon.

In 2005, Kenneth Nixon was 19 years old when he was convicted of arson and murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Sixteen years later, on Feb. 18, 2021, he was exonerated and proven innocent.

"This isn't about lawyers, this isn't about redress, this is about getting it right and fixing the system," Kenneth Nixon said.

With his announcement of suing the city, his lawyers say police allegedly framed him, manufacturing evidence and suppressing exculpatory evidence that ultimately landed him in prison. Kenneth Nixon says as an exoneree, wrongful imprisonment is a tragedy that he says cannot continue to keep happening.

"I don't want to be having this conversation 20 years from now with some kid who's suffered the same injustice because we didn't fix it. This is our opportunity to get it right. This is what we all strive to do get it right every single day," he says.

"The things that they see and they suffer through its mean and its ugly. Most of them were children when they went away didn't have a clue where their lives were going, but now to still have to fight for that knowledge of where do we go from here," Tracy Nixon said.