Members of the Senate Judiciary could hear a bill early this week that creates a statutory process for “fairly and uniformly compensating innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated.” House Bill 1354, the “Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act,” is a bipartisan bill by Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) that sailed through the House by a 157-11 vote.
“Many people think the nightmare of wrongful conviction ends when an innocent person is able to walk out of prison,” said Hayden Davis, Policy Specialist for the Georgia Innocence Project. “But, for exonerees, freedom is just the start of another difficult journey. With no money, housing, or healthcare, and a criminal record that is often not cleared despite innocence, exonerees face major barriers upon release. Financial support for exonerees is crucial so that they can rebuild the lives they were unjustly deprived of, often for decades. Yet Georgia is one of only 12 states—a number that decreases every year—that has no law designed to compensate the wrongfully incarcerated.”
According to Davis, those exonerated of crimes in Georgia must currently go through a process “that was not designed for them but built to compensate people harmed by state agencies – such as someone hit by a Dept. of Transportation truck.” This process, he says, can lead to inefficiency, inconsistency, and unfair outcomes.
“Under the current process, Georgia exonerees are required to file a claim with Georgia’s Claims Advisory board and they must also find a Representative in the Georgia House willing to sponsor a private compensation resolution on their behalf and must lobby the General Assembly to pass their resolution,” said Davis. “To our knowledge, this Board has never recommended compensation for wrongful conviction.”
The Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act would create a panel of wrongful conviction experts under Georgia’s existing Claims Advisory Board to evaluate claims and make recommendations to the Chief Justice. The panel would consist of a Judge appointed by the Chief Justice, a District Attorney and Defense Attorney appointed by the Governor, and one appointee each by the Speaker of the House and the Lt. Governor. If the panel finds evidence for compensation, they would make a recommendation to the Chief Justice. The funds would be appropriated to the Chief Justice’s budget.
According to Davis, those seeking the compensation would have to prove complete innocence of the crime, or a lesser crime, and the conviction must be completely overturned and not being considered for retrial.
“After decades in prison for crimes they did not commit, compensation provides a much-needed lifeline to exonerees,” said Davis. “When done right, it has the capacity to provide the financial and other resources necessary to enable exonerees to recover and heal from the trauma of wrongful imprisonment, rebuild their lives, and engage meaningfully in their communities.”
Other sponsors of the bill are Rep. Penny Houston (R-Nashville), Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) and Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus).
