Racist Chase Bank employees turned away black man trying to cash award check for wrongful conviction: lawyer

In November, Darryl Fulton was released from prison after DNA evidence cleared him in the rape and murder of a young girl. Fulton spent more than two decades in prison before DNA evidence pointed to a serial rapist in the murder of Antwinica Bridgeman.

Fulton met his grown daughter for the first time in November.

After release, prisoners face endless hurdles, from getting up to par on new technology to convincing employers to give them a chance to negotiating relationships with relatives and friends.

In Fulton's case, a Chase Bank in Illinois turned him away—twice—when he tried to cash the check he got from the state to compensate him for the twenty years he spent behind bars (for the record, the state of Illinois has deemed $169,876 worthy of two decades of Fulton's life).

Fulton's lawyer claims that the bank rejected him because he was racially profiled, the Chicago Tribune reports.

“I find it particularly outrageous because he was wrongfully convicted,” his lawyer, Kathleen Zellner told the Tribune. “The check is from the state of Illinois to him and I can’t attribute any other reason except they’re discriminating against him because he’s a Black male.”

Chase told the paper that the confusion has arisen from a misunderstanding.