Court Fees Spur Freed Man to File Bankruptcy

Freed prison journalist Wilbert Rideau has filed for bankruptcy protection, saying he can’t pay the more than $126,000 in court costs from a trial that resulted in his release after 44 years behind bars.

Rideau, 63, had been serving a life term until a jury in January found him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter in the 1961 death of a bank teller.

In ordering Rideau to pay court costs, the judge said he could reap a windfall by turning his life story into a book. The judge compared the payment order to assessing costs to a person who expects a settlement from a pending civil suit.