Barbara Simon, a former Detroit detective who waged psychological warfare against young Black men in the 1990s and early 2000s, has cost taxpayers more than $25 million in lawsuit settlements so far.
Lamarr Monson, 52, reached an $8.5 million settlement with the city earlier this month after he alleged Simon tricked him into falsely confessing. Based solely on that false confession, Monson was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a 12-year-old at a drug house in Detroit. He was 24 years old at the time and was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison.
Monson spent more than 20 years in prison before being exonerated.
“Barbara Simon needs to definitely be held accountable for her actions,” Monson tells Metro Times. “What she did was unnecessary. She interviewed these young Black men, and she knew the struggles they went through, and for her to set them up to take a fall against the evidence, she took it upon herself to put innocent people in prison. That’s something that we cannot allow in our justice system. When you find out something like that, there should be a swift response.”
Simon’s knack for obtaining confessions earned her the nickname “the closer,” which was also the name of a recent two-part Metro Times cover story about the detective.
In 2022, Kendrick Scott and Justly Johnson, who spent 19 years in prison for a murder they didn’t commit on Mother’s Day in 1999, each reached an $8.5 million settlement with the city. In their cases, Simon was accused of coercing two young, intoxicated people into incriminating Johnson and Scott.
During an interrogation, Simon called Johnson a racial slur and told him any jury in America would convict him of killing a white woman, according to Johnson. Simon added that she was under pressure from then-Mayor Dennis Archer to close the case and didn't care if he was innocent, according to one of Johnson's affidavits.
After numerous appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court finally ordered new trials for Johnson and Scott in July 2018. Four months later, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the charges, and Scott and Johnson were free men for the first time in 18 years.
In 2011, Damon Nathaniel filed a lawsuit against Simon after he was imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit in 2008. Nathaniel was illegally held in jail without access to an attorney and phone call and eventually signed a confession he didn’t write. Before the trial, DNA evidence excluded Nathaniel as a suspect, and the prosecutor moved to dismiss the case.
Simon’s misconduct could cost the city even more money. Mark Craighead, who falsely confessed after being denied access to food, water, or an attorney, spent more than seven years in prison. He was later exonerated
In February 2021, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Shannon Walker granted Craighead a new trial, saying Simon “has a history of falsifying confessions and lying under oath” and that the new evidence “establishes a common scheme of misconduct.”
“Not only has this Court already found statements obtained by Simon not to be credible, but so too has the Michigan Supreme Court,” Walker said.
“This impeachment evidence demonstrates that Simon has repeatedly lied as part of her misconduct, which would allow a jury to evaluate whether to trust her testimony in light of information demonstrating a character of truthfulness,” Walker added.
Despite Simon’s repeated misconduct, she interrogated hundreds of suspects and witnesses during her career with the Detroit Police Department. She retired in August 2021 and has been collecting a tax-funded pension ever since.
Monson and Craighead have teamed up to call on Detroit police to launch a criminal investigation into Simon’s actions, saying she had engaged in a pattern of criminal misconduct.
Monson and Craighead also urged Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to hire an outside firm to investigate all of the cases handled by Simon. Worthy responded by pledging to hire an additional attorney to review the cases.
Monson says Simon should be criminally charged and lose her pension.
“This lady has been destroying the lives of the young men and their families for a long time,” Monson says. “And she acts like she’s done nothing wrong. It’s asinine to me that you can have a person in that position and do that to innocent people without any recourse. There was no discipline for her actions, and that’s why she continued to do it.”
In 1996, Monson was convicted of murder for the fatal stabbing of 12-year-old Christina Brown in a Detroit drug house, based on his false confession. He was interrogated for hours without access to a lawyer and ultimately signed a confession, despite evidence showing the victim died of blunt force trauma, not a stabbing.
Monson was exonerated in 2017 when new evidence, including fingerprints on the murder weapon that belonged to another man, Robert “Raymond” Lewis, came to light. Despite the exoneration, no charges were brought against Lewis, who was implicated by his ex-girlfriend’s testimony.
Monson filed his lawsuit in February 2018. He says the city spent $750,000 fighting the case.
“They fought me every step of the way,” Monson says.
While the city tied up the case in court, Monson’s father and sister died.
“I was hoping this lawsuit would be a blessing to my family,” Monson says. “For me to lose my father and my sister, it’s difficult.”
After his exoneration, Monson created a community organization, Moving Detroit Forward, a group focused on establishing economic infrastructure in neglected areas of Detroit.
He says he plans to use the settlement money to help others who are struggling.
“The money will be good because it will free me up to do some other things and assist others,” Monson says. “I’ll be doing some things in ministry and set up opportunities for other people through Moving Detroit Forward.”
