Rodell Sanders talks with media members regarding settlement of his wrongful conviction case against Chicago Heights. The $15 million settlement is the second largest wrongful conviction award in state history. (Photo by Kevin Beese/for Chronicle Media)

Rodell Sanders never stopped professing his innocence.

Through a murder conviction, a second trial with one holdout juror, and more than 20 years behind bars, he claimed Chicago Heights police, a department which had seven members of its force sent to prison, were wrongly targeting him for the crime. He learned about law while in prison and represented himself in the appeals process.

“I didn’t want to die in prison,” Sanders said of educating himself on the legal system after being convicted of the 1993 shooting of Phillip Atkins in Chicago Heights. “I wanted to make it out and I wanted to expose the Chicago Heights Police Department for exactly what they were, with their corrupt police officers. I was saying from Day 1 that they framed me, but no one would believe me. “

Two years ago, when he was on trial for a third time for Atkins’ murder, Sanders was finally found innocent.

Sanders, 51, living in the south suburbs and now a law clerk at the civil rights law firm of Loevy & Loevy in Chicago, has reached a $15 million settlement with Chicago Heights police — the second largest wrongful imprisonment settlement in the state.

His youngest daughter, now 22, was born 4½ months after his incarceration.

“They can never give me back the 20 years they’ve taken from me,” Sanders said after the settlement was announced. “I lost those years with my family. I lost those years with my children. There are many, many things that I lost that I can never, ever be getting back.”

Seven Chicago Heights police officers, including Chief Sam Mangilardi, were convicted of federal charges, including civil rights violations, racketeering, witness tampering, bribery, extortion, and/or money laundering.

“When I think about Chicago Heights, I have a bad taste in my mouth,” Sanders said. “I know in that police department, there are good policemen … but the city was aware that it had a number of bad officers on the force and failed to do anything about it. “

Russell Ainsworth (left), an attorney with the civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy in Chicago, and Rodell Sanders talk with members of the media, following the $15 million settlement of Sanders’ wrongful conviction case against Chicago Heights. Sanders spent more than 20 years behind bars for a Chicago Heights murder he didn’t commit. (Photo by Kevin Beese/for Chronicle Media)

Russell Ainsworth of Loevy & Loevy, who represented Sanders in his wrongful conviction lawsuit, said it was remarkable that a city could have seven of its police officers indicted over a five-year period and not do anything to reform the department.

“Time and time again, the federal authorities had to come back and indict officers,” Ainsworth said. “None of them were disciplined by Chicago Heights. Chicago Heights took no action after the first indictment or the second indictment or the third indictment, to investigate and see which other officers might be” involved in illegal activity.

Ainsworth said there was no physical or DNA evidence linking Sanders to the crime. Witnesses described the shooter as 6-feet tall and skinny. Sanders is 5-8 and at the time of the shooting was close to 200 pounds.

Sanders said that he was at a friend’s house playing cards that evening and witnesses backed his story.

“This case is one that we’ve seen all too often,” Ainsworth said, “a man wrongfully convicted of murder because police officers charged with bringing the right person to justice instead manipulated an eyewitness to the event.”

Sanders said he wants to stay at Loevy & Loevy to help other individuals who are wrongly incarcerated.

Chicago Heights will pay $2 million of the settlement and its insurance carriers will pay the other $13 million, Ainsworth said.

— Man reaches $15 million deal for wrongful imprisonment  —