Hi everyone...I have a question regarding compensation for individuals who were exonerated after a wrongful conviction. I realize there are states with set dollar amounts (per day, per year, etc.) for compensation and there are states with no compensation amounts at all.

Does anyone have any idea if there is anything in the works anywhere to set forth a compensation amount that would be equal across the United States? Senator Jim Webb's call for Criminal Justice Reform outlined many issues needing to be addressed in our "justice" system, but I did not see (or I may have missed) the issue of compensation for wrongfully convicted/exonerated. Does anyone know if there is a proposal floating around out there anywhere?

Thanks a million! :D

Certainly nothing that I have heard of. The compensation I know of is as you mention in your post, in other words varies widely from $0 to set amounts per year etc.

No the federal gov't isn't stepping in--for obvious reasons. It would be nice if they would just enforce the federal guidelines for prisons that are already in place.

The exonerees need a lot of help. Many of them have been institutionalized for decades. They come out and are not given much assistance. Some of them have a good family network but others are on their own. They need help with banking, bill paying, etc. A few fortunate people are given checks but they need social services to step up and help them assimilate.

Thanks for the quick replies. That's what I thought....and thus the reason I'm so interested in the topic. The more people who write about it in the news, academic journal articles, etc., the more people who will know about the problem. It's an article I should have done by the end of this summer. Thanks again.

It doesnt seem like there is any system set up which is wrong. Some people can lose years of their life for no reason. They need help to rehabilitate themselves. I did read this article which was quite interesting
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2262/do-the-wrongfully-imprisoned-get-compensation

Thanks for the info, Lisainengland!

well it seems too me that the us court system has gotten it all wrong, they can take our tax dollars and give billions, too companys like enron, gmc joe#####next door too the white house, and we say nothing!!! but compensate a man for spending his life in prison, as an inosent, now that will almost start a war in any state!!!!! any one out there from the country of florida? the biblebelt of the universe, now that would be a galatic war !!!!!!! way too go crist!!!!!!!

I hear ya, toofies....I currently live in FL and honestly, if you think this is the Bible belt, try living in a "real" southern State or even Texas. I lived in TX for four years and it was light years different than here in FL. They don't have a justice system in TX, it's more of an express line to prison or execution. It scared me at times. I agree with you about bailing out all the companies as that rubs me the wrong way too, however, it's a completely different topic. I do hear where you're coming from though. :thumbsup:

Oh indeed Rocky. Few here would argue about the lack of a justice system in Texas, many of us have friends/loved ones there, and know exactly what you mean. Even when they have the people on DR the injustice and inhumanity continues!!

I know, JJ. Now that I'm finally in a position to (hopefully) do something about injustices in our system, that's why I'm reaching out to folks on the board in hopes I will get some good responses from folks that will give me ideas of where things need to change. For right now, I need to focus on three specific areas over the next year, however, after that, there are no boundaries. I'm finding so many interesting stories and ideas on this web site. I'm so glad it's here. :) I wish folks didn't have to go through what they are right now, but there are a few of us who worked "in" the system and saw the horrible conditions and who are now in positions where we might be able to do something about it. If enough people speak out, they have to listen.

If you plan on helping our friends on DR Rocky, I can almost guarantee, the people here will do all they can do help. Many of us are campaigners and advocates, but the more the merrier in this field.

I am pleased you found PTO - Welcome!

KIRK BLOODSWORTH


Kirk Bloodsworth was sentenced to death for a 1984 rape-murder he didn't commit — it took nine years for DNA to exonerate him, and another decade for it to link another man to the crime

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions/graphics/exonerated/mdbloodsworthK.jpg
Kirk Bloodsworth (Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein) Kirk Noble Bloodsworth, a former Marine discus champion, was exonerated by DNA (http://www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions/issues/causesandremedies/junkscience/dna/) in 1993 of the rape and murder of nine-year-old Dawn Hamilton — a crime for which he was sentenced to death in Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1985. After Bloodsworth's conviction was reversed in 1986, he occupied a cell directly above that occupied by Kimberly Shay Ruffner, who was serving a sentence for another rape and who — a decade after Bloodsworth's exoneration — would be linked by DNA to the rape and murder of the Hamilton child.
The principal evidence purporting to link Bloodsworth to the 1984 crime was the testimony of five witnesses who placed him either with the victim or near the scene of the crime at the time it was believed to have occurred. In addition, the prosecution introduced forensic evidence purporting to link a pair of his shoes to marks on the victim's body.
The Maryland Court of Appeals overturned Bloodsworth's conviction in 1986 after finding that the prosecution had illegally withheld potentially exculpatory evidence from the defense, Bloodsworth v. State, 307 Md. 164 (1986). However, Bloodsworth was retried, again convicted, and sentenced to two life terms. That conviction and sentence was affirmed on appeal, Bloodsworth v. State, 76 Md. App. 23 (1988).
In 1992, however, Centurion Ministries of Princeton, New Jersey, helped Bloodsworth obtain court approval for testing of biological material preserved from the crime with a then-emerging DNA technology known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction). The tests, performed by Edward T. Blake, of Forensic Science Associates, in Richmond, California, incontrovertibly established Bloodsworth's innocence. After the FBI confirmed the results, Bloodsworth was released June 28, 1993. He was the first U.S. death row prisoner to be exonerated by DNA. In December 1994, Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer granted Boodsworth a full pardon based on innocence.
Nine years later, in the spring of 2003, a Baltimore County forensic biologist who was studying evidence from the case found stains on a sheet that had not been analyzed. Investigators ordered DNA testing and ran the results through the national DNA database, which linked Ruffner to the crime. Bloodsworth, who had been the prison librarian in his later years of incarceration, had regularly delivered books to Ruffner and the two had lifted weights together. Ruffner arrived in prison just a month after Bloodsworth and knew about Bloodsworth's case, his attempts to win a new trial, and his claim of actual innocence. However, Ruffner said nothing to lead Bloodsworth to suspect that Ruffner had killed Dawn Hamilton. Bloodsworth learned the news from prosecutors shortly before Ruffner was formally charged with the crime on September 5, 2003.
The State of Maryland paid Bloodsworth $300,000 for lost income, based on the rough calculation that he would have earned some $30,000 a year for the years from his arrest to his release.
The foregoing summary was prepared by Rob Warden, executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions. Permission is granted to reprint, quote, or post this material on other web sites with appropriate attribution.
Case data:

Defendant: Kirk Nobel Bloodsworth
Gender: Male
Date of birth: October 31, 1960
Race: Caucasian
Jurisdiction: Baltimore County, Maryland
Date of crime: July 25, 1984
Age at time of crime: 23
Date of arrest: August 7, 1984
Charge: Sexual assault, rape, and first-degree premeditated murder of a child
Sentence: Death (first trial), life (second trial)
Release or exoneration date: June 28, 1993
Time lapse (arrest to release): 3,247 days
Victim(s): Dawn Hamilton
No. of victims: 1
Age(s) of murder victim(s): 9
Gender of victim(s): Female
Race of victim(s): Caucasian
Relationship of victim to defendant: None
Defendant prior felony record: None
Known factors leading to wrongful conviction: Five mistaken eyewitnesses, junk science, withholding of exculpatory evidence by prosecution
Did an appellate court ever affirm conviction? Yes — second conviction affirmed, Bloodsworth v. State, 76 Md. App. 23 (1988).
Exonerated by: Gubernatorial pardon and DNA, which belatedly implicated the actual killer.
Compensation for wrongful imprisonment: $300,000
Compensation per day of wrongful imprisonment: $92.39
http://www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/mdBloodsworthSummary.html

Kirk lives about 30 minutes from here. He has a strong group of family and friends to turn to. I thought this info was compelling as it gives the breakdown of $90.00 a day. I had never seen that.

That has to be an exception Mamma? I have NEVER seen an exonerated DR inmate receive that kind of compensation - ever!!

Hi JJ. Here is some more info. Missouri pays up to $50 a day but that depends on the strength of the evidence. CA pays 26,000 a year. Ohio $40,330 a year plus atty's fees. (Let's tell them to get Brett's check ready!). And so on. It seems that it depends on how long the person was in and what kind of case they had against them. Here is the link to the full article.

http://www.setexasrecord.com/arguments/204519-legally-speaking-compensating-the-exonerated

There are quite a few cases out there where exonerees are receiving lump sums of money that not too many people would turn away from. I don't think money can compensate for all of those years, but it helps.

I think we would all agree that nothing can make up for what they have lost. Their lives have been shattered. Some of them are still suspected by their communities. Yet for the most part they go about their lives peacefully and without bitterness. I would think they would feel anger and go after the DA and police. But they don't. I guess because they weren't violent people to begin with!!

Thanks for the info Mamma's. I am pleased to see some exonerated inmates are being given compensation. It is a shame ALL are not. Re-entry is difficult especially if a long sentence has been served, yet the help available afterwards is minimal in most states. People could easily have lost homes and families, and all have lost jobs/trades. People who have been in prison for a long time struggle even with excellent family support, so inmates released with nothing, have an almost impossible task!

I am quite sure they would much prefer to have never been wrongly convicted and not entitled to compensation, than have all the wasted years!!


There are quite a few cases out there where exonerees are receiving lump sums of money that not too many people would turn away from. I don't think money can compensate for all of those years, but it helps.

Thanks, JJ!


If you plan on helping our friends on DR Rocky, I can almost guarantee, the people here will do all they can do help. Many of us are campaigners and advocates, but the more the merrier in this field.

I am pleased you found PTO - Welcome!

i am currently a senior in college, majoring in cj and sociology. just last week i had a KNOCK DOWN DRAG OUT (verbally, of course, lol) w/ my prof, if front of the entire class, about this very issue. it must be said that he used to be a prosecutor, but is now a criminal defense lawyer....anyway, he was VERY, VERY MUCH OPPOSED to any comp by the state, arguing that the jury is the one(s) that found the offender guilty, and that the state should not be held resp. of course, he was so very wrong, and the sad thing was that the entire class is so very intimidated by him, no one would speak up during our "discussion" (if you want to call it that)....however after class, each student came up to me and told me they agreed w/ me, that OF COURSE THEY SHOULD BE COMPENSATED~ anyway, this week, the prof actually told me that he had thought about my argument, and although he was not going to say i was right, i did have very good arguments and did a great job expressing them....it did not occur to me in the heat of the argument that he may of thought i was accusing him, personally, of prosecuting innocent men/women, but as defensive as he got, i have to wonder....regardless, if i prosecuted an innocent person and they were found guilty, i would certianly think they should be made as "whole " as any other victim............because that is what the offender becomes, a victim of our messed up system. i am brand new to this site, and wish i would of found it sooner, but better late than never....i have a feeling i am going to learn alot! have a great weekend :)

Of course the state is responsible. The state is who decides what charges to bring and against what party to bring them. It is just silly to claim the jury did it!! Sadly many jurors give more credence to police testimony than they should.

By all means ask your prof how we can compensate Todd Willingham for his wrongful conviction. Now that he has been executed.