Tag Archives: wrongful conviction compensation

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The Oklahoma Innocence Project continues to battle for Malcolm Scott’s freedom…

Robert W. Wood of Forbes Magazine discusses why “Taxing Wrongful Conviction Money Is Wrong“…

The National Law Review covers the root causes of wrongful conviction

In Chicago, DNA proves Daniel Andersen’s innocence in 1980 stabbing…

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to grant immunity to  former Pennsylvania prosecutors in civil suit filed by David Munchinski who spent 24 years wrongfully imprisoned…

Friday’s Quick Clicks…

Michigan inmate’s request for DNA testing on evidence from 1988 murder has been granted…

North Carolina man reaches settlement agreement with county, wins compensation for 11 years of wrongful incarceration…

New York judge denies state’s motion to dismiss, allows widow to sue for compensation on behalf of husband who died a year after being exonerated…

Friday’s Quick Clicks…

Governor of California Jerry Brown signs legislation authorizing $698, 400 pay-out to three wrongfully convicted individuals…

A Cook County Judge refused to grant a certificate of innocence to ex-death row inmate despite finding the man actually innocent…

Scott Henson named director of Texas Innocence Project…

In Alaska, the first of the “Fairbanks Four” leaves prison for halfway house…

Louisiana appeals court blocks release of “Angola Three” inmate Albert Woodfox…

Jury Awards $36M in Wrongful Conviction Suit to Two NY Men

A jury in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York, yesterday awarded John Restivo, 56, and Dennis Halstead, 59, $18 million each—$1 million for every year they spent in prison—following their wrongful convictions in the 1984 rape and murder of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco. All charges had been dismissed in 2003 after DNA testing of evidence, which was conducted over ten years, excluded the men and implicated another, unidentified perpetrator.

After a four-week trial in the federal civil rights lawsuit, the jury concluded that Nassau County lead detective, Joseph Volpe, now deceased, had engaged in official misconduct, including fabrication of hair evidence and withholding of exculpatory evidence in the case. Continue reading

Ohio to Assist Ex-cons Seeking Work; The Peculiar Place of the Exonerated

Getting a job with prison on your resume isn’t easy. That’s an understatement, but tomorrow ex-offenders in Ohio will get free advice—including information on starting a business and finding the resources to return to school—and even free proper business clothing to help them get back into the workplace. The event, free and open to ex-offenders, will be held at Columbus State Community College. Thanks to several government agencies involved and to Ohio Development Director David Goodman for this initiative. Goodman also sponsored Senate Bill 77, the bill that enacted best practice reform aimed at reducing wrongful conviction.

Which brings to mind the peculiar place of the exonerated. One would presume that tomorrow’s program would also welcome those wrongfully convicted, because, unfortunately, many still face the stigma of prison even though they did not deserve to be there. Continue reading

Advocacy of State’s Conference of District Attorneys: A Disservice to North Carolina, Justice

North Carolina has added a new restriction to its compensation law for those wrongfully convicted: Those who plead guilty are no longer eligible. Denying compensation to those who “contributed” to their conviction by entering a guilty plea has been a common argument from those who seek to minimize the state’s responsibility in miscarriages of justice or deny compensation to those who have had years of their lives stolen through wrongful conviction. But, it’s an argument that should no longer have credibility.  Continue reading

After Exoneration: Multiple Challenges, Harsh Welcome

Wrongfully convicted persons are often provided less assistance in exiting prison than guilty convicts departing after completing their sentence. When Michael Williams left a Louisiana prison after serving 24 years for a rape he didn’t commit, he was given ten dollars and a bus ticket. But that was just the beginning of his problems. Many exonerees quickly discover a new, challenging, Continue reading

Precedent-setting Ruling: Texas Supreme Court Orders Compensation in Non-DNA Case

Billy Frederick Allen spent 26 years in prison for murder before his conviction was overturned, but not with gold-standard DNA proof of his innocence.  Two Texas courts had agreed his conviction shouldn’t stand. A Texas Court of Appeals reversed  it based on ineffective counsel. A lower court had ruled that the evidence against him was insufficient for a reasonable jury to convict him. But the state’s Comptroller had resisted paying compensation saying that Allen had not proven his innocence. On Friday, in a precedent-setting unanimous decision, the Continue reading

U.S. News Programs Explore Systemic Wrongful Conviction Issues

Millions of Americans had their eyes opened to two important criminal justice issues—prosecutorial misconduct and wrongful conviction compensation—as national television news programs explored topics related to wrongful conviction last night, Sunday, March 25, 2012. Ohio Innocence Project Director Mark Godsey previously announced these programs on this blog. If you missed them, see the video link here to the 14-minute segment of CBS’s 60 MINUTES with Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in prison before DNA proved he didn’t murder his wife. The piece explores the case that has prompted a rare judicial inquiry into allegations of prosecutorial Continue reading