Milner offer too low to reject

The city said it was sorry, and that was enough for Markeith Milner.

In an unprecedented ceremony Tuesday, Mayor Jim Wetherington and Police Chief Ricky Boren admitted Milner was mistakenly arrested -- and told him so in front of Columbus Council.

His attorney, Frank Martin, said no one can undo what has happened, but an apology was in order. The former mayor brokered a deal that included an offer so low that he knew the city couldn't reject it.

Playing by the numbers, Martin computed a proposal. Police jailed Milner for 13 days. There are 24 hours in a day and Milner's time was worth $100 an hour.

In simple math, that's 13 times 24 times $100, which comes out to $31,200 -- the amount of the damages paid by the city.

None of this would have happened without old-fashioned police work by Muscogee County Marshal Greg Countryman and his deputies.

Here's the scenario:

• Milner was arrested April 12 for his alleged involvement in the slayings of two men in a home invasion on April 8.
• Deputy marshals, working with an informant, discovered the identities of other suspects and verified the information the snitch had given them.
• The marshal's office turned over names of suspects to the Columbus Police Department.
• On April 25, Milner was released, charges were dropped and his record was expunged.
• On April 25, police arrested three men and charged them with murder. A fourth arrest came the following day.

Once Milner was free, Martin recommended settling without litigating. Martin and Wetherington met and on July 10 the mayor discussed the proposal with Columbus Council in executive session.

Wetherington offered Milner a public apology at a news conference or a council meeting.

"We chose a council meeting because there would be more publicity and so we could thank members of council collectively," Martin explained.

Martin contrasted the handling of the Milner case to the aftermath of the killing of Kenny Walker by a Muscogee County sheriff's deputy in 2003.

"I have hopes that this case will somehow be a catalyst to deal with the Walker case even though it's very late," he said.

After his police mug shot was on the front page of the newspaper and on TV, Milner faced whispers from people who thought they recognized him.

That's why I went to his house Tuesday afternoon to take a photo of him dressed in the new brown suit he wore to council. Milner, 23, said very little. "They finally apologized," he said, "and I'm glad they cleared my record."

Countryman complimented his deputies but reserved most of his praise for Jim Wetherington.

"The mayor was a big man for doing that," Countryman said. "As he said, he was trying to make a wrong a right."