Civil Liberties

A SWAT Team Destroyed an Innocent Woman's Home. She's Been Waiting 6 Years for Justice.

Vicki Baker is more fortunate than several other similarly situated victims. But it took a very long time to get there.

Billy Binion | 5.22.2026 5:17 PM

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Vicki Baker is seen in front of her Texas house after it was destroyed in 2020 (Illustration: Adani Samat. Photo: Institute For Justice)

How long should it take an innocent person to get confirmation that they will be compensated after the government destroys their home? Should, of course, is subjective. Some such victims will never get that confirmation.

For Vicki Baker, it came today from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, almost six years after her house in McKinney, Texas, was destroyed by a SWAT team in pursuit of a fugitive who had barricaded himself inside.

The scene that followed was chaotic. As I wrote in 2021:

Prior to........

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