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Former LMPD Detective Mark Handy indicted by grand jury

Mark Handy has been indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on one count of perjury for giving false testimony against Edwin Chandler and faces one other charge.

LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- A Jefferson County grand jury handed down two indictments against former Louisville Police Detective Mark Handy charging him with perjury and tampering with physical evidence.

Handy is charged with perjury from the 1993 case of Edwin Chandler, who was convicted of murdering Brenda Whitfield.

But, Chandler said he was coerced into making a false confession because Handy threatened him. During the 1995 trial, the indictment alleges Handy made a false statement under oath.

Chandler served nine years in prison but was later exonerated and awarded $8.5 million by the city of Louisville.

"He wants to see justice done and I think it's going to happen," said attorney Larry Simon.

Simon represented Chandler in the civil lawsuit and told WHAS11 Handy's indictment was a long time coming.

Metro Council heard directly from Chandler earlier this year when he asked for a special investigation into Handy's actions.

"Burying the weight that I carry for 25 years - yeah, it's very difficult," he said.

Former LMPD detective and State Representative Denny Butler also commented on Handy's detective work in an I-Team report earlier this year.

"He intentionally lied to gain the conviction of an innocent man for a murder he had nothing to do with," Butler said.

In 1992, the indictment also alleges Handy destroyed, concealed or altered evidence against Keith West who would later enter an Alford plea in the shooting deaths of two men.

His lawyers are looking to get his plea, and his prison sentence, thrown out.

Handy is scheduled to be arraigned on October 22.

RELATED: Man blames Metro Government for wrongful conviction, sues LMPD and detectives

RELATED: Fmr. Louisville officer under investigation for role in wrongful conviction

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