Montana Innocence Project client gets $5M settlement for wrongful conviction

Richard Raugust, wrongfully convicted in a homicide, has received a $5 million settlement in a case against Sanders County and a deputy sheriff, law firm Blackford Carls announced Wednesday.

In 1998, Raugust was wrongfully convicted of using a shotgun to shoot a friend and housemate to death and setting the scene on fire after another man falsely accused him — and a deputy sheriff withheld exculpatory evidence, according to Blackford Carls and the Montana Innocence Project.

The evidence that was withheld — either willfully or inadvertently — would have corroborated Raugust’s alibi and his testimony in court, and it would have impeached the statements of witnesses who testified against him in the murder of Joe Tash, according to court records.

The officer should have disclosed the information, which would “put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine the confidence in the verdict,” said the U.S. District Court order of April 2022.

Instead, Raugust was sentenced to life in prison for homicide, 20 years for attempted arson, 10 years for attempted evidence tampering, and 10 years for use of a dangerous weapon, the law firm’s news release said.

In 2009, Raugust sought help from the Montana Innocence Project, which interviewed the deputy sheriff as part of its investigation, the firm said. It said the interview revealed the law enforcement officer had withheld information critical to its client’s defense.

In 2015, Raugust’s convictions were vacated, and he received a new trial, the firm said.

“After being wrongfully incarcerated for 18 years, Raugust was finally released from prison in 2015,” the Bozeman firm said in the news release. “In September 2016, the State of Montana dismissed the charges against Raugust.”

The firm noted the charges were dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning they cannot be brought again, and the result was from a collaboration with the Montana Innocence Project.

In a claim filed prior to the civil case, Raugust requested $97 million for lost freedom and physical and emotional damage, but the state of Montana denied the claim, according to the Associated Press.

Raugust then brought a civil lawsuit against the deputy sheriff and Sanders County for the violation of his constitutional rights and the wrongful conviction.

“The parties settled for $5 million,” the firm said; the firm declined to provide the settlement document, citing client confidentiality.

Raugust was represented by Hillary Carls and Sherine Blackford of Bozeman and Melinda Driscoll of Billings.

In a phone call, Carls said the case was settled earlier this month. She also said Raugust is thriving despite his time in prison and decades-long pursuit of justice.

“It’s been amazing to hear him talk about what he wants to do, and they’re things he was thinking about when he was in prison but didn’t give up hope,” Carls said.

In a narrative of the case posted on the website of the Montana Innocence Project, the late executive director Joe Bischof said Raugust carries no bitterness about being wrongfully convicted.

“It’s really kind of a remarkable thing to witness,” said Bischof, who died in 2019. “I think any of us who had been wronged the way he was would certainly carry something with us harboring a lot of disgust and dislike for our fellow human beings.

In a brief phone call Wednesday, Sanders County legal assistant Allison Smith said County Attorney Naomi Leisz was unavailable for questions. However, Smith said the County Attorney’s Office would decline to comment on whether it was pursuing another suspect in the 1997 murder of Joe Tash and directed questions to the Montana Attorney General’s Office.

The Attorney General’s Office could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon via email.