Compensating the Wrongfully Convicted

The unimaginable horror of a wrongful conviction is only compounded when an innocent inmate is released into a changed world without a helping hand or a safety net. Michael Williams (above) was 40 years old when he got the standard $10 check and bus ticket upon his release from Louisiana’s Angola prison. He was convicted of a rape he didn’t commit at age 16 and he literally grew up in one of the country’s most notorious prisons. DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project proved his innocence of the rape for which he was serving life, but he was released with little support. Four years after his release, he was finally paid $150,000 in compensation by the state –just $6,300 for each year of his wrongful incarceration.

"When you are in prison for as long as I was, people either think you must be guilty or at least damaged," Williams told the Wall Street Journal recently. "It's been lonely. Very lonely."

Only about 50 percent of the 218 people exonerated by DNA testing have received some form of compensation. Many of them, like Williams, received payments too small to start a new life. But the tide may finally be turning: 25 states now have statutes compensating the wrongfully convicted and several other legislatures are considering new laws or improvements of existing ones. In the last two months, Connecticut, Florida and Utah have enacted new compensation laws.

Some of these new laws go further than a payment to the exoneree – they provide services like medical care, education and counseling release. Connecticut’s new law, for example, includes possible funding for tuition in the state university system, counseling, job training and other services. The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, a panel created to study the causes of wrongful convictions and suggest reforms to prevent and address injustice, has called for improvements in the state’s law compensating the wrongfully convicted to include reintegration services. The panel also recommended that the state increase its compensation from $36,500 per year of wrongful incarceration to the recommended federal level of $50,000 per year. A bill reflecting these recommendations is currently pending in the state legislature.

Click on the map below to learn if your state has an exoneree compensation law.

Get Involved:

Express your opinion: write a letter to the editor or contact your elected representatives.

Donate to the Innocence Project Exoneree Fund, helping exonerated clients immediately after their release.


Learn More:

Read the Wall Street Journal article about Michael Williams.

Listen to three dozen exonerees talk about life after release in their own words in a New York Times online feature.