Wrongly Imprisoned Oregon Man Discovers His ‘Victim’ Was Alive, Now the City of Portland Owes Him $300,000

Newly-enrolled law student, Adam Gregg (39), will be paid $300,000 by the City of Portland after serving more than five years in a federal prison for the death of a man to whom he sold heroin, only to find out on his release from prison that the so-called deceased was very much alive.

Former Prisoner is Now a Law Student

Gregg, who spent five years and four months in prison from February 8, 2016, to June 3, 2021, is now a student at the Lewis & Clark Law School. According to state law, people convicted of felonies can be given a ‘second look’ for relief from their convictions with the support of a district attorney.

Gregg was convicted in the Multnomah County Circuit Court after accepting an offer from a prosecutor who told him he could spend 20 years to life in prison if he did not accept a sentence of nearly seven years. The prosecutor told Gregg that the man to whom he sold heroin had died of an overdose.

On his release from prison, Gregg sought to find the victim’s family to express his remorse and to ask for their support of his application to attend law school.

While searching for the family of the so-called victim, Cole Culver, Gregg discovered Culver’s Facebook page, on which it stated that Culver had been arrested while Gregg was still serving his prison sentence.

The Police Erroneously Listed the Victim as Deceased

According to court documents, Portland police officer Matthew Brown had erroneously listed Culver as deceased.

Gregg brought a malicious prosecution lawsuit against two Portland police officers and two former prosecutors for Multnomah County in a civil case filed in federal court. The case was then transferred to Multnomah County Circuit Court, where the claims against the prosecutors were dismissed by a judge.

Recommendations that the City of Portland settle the lawsuit have been made by the city’s attorney, the Portland Risk Management Division, and the Portland Police Bureau.

Culver died of unrelated circumstances last year.