First, kudos to the legislature for attempting to redress the unimaginable consequences of being wrongly convicted (I like to think most of the wrongful convictions were by mistake - but also mindful of the extraordinary power of government prosecutors and the prosecutorial apparatus). Second, I will be interested to hear from my colleagues in the criminal bar - but wondering if implementation of this program could be filtered through an appointed body similar to the parole board, whose function would be to determine whether the evidence demonstrates that an applicant almost certainly did not commit the crime for which they were convicted (as opposed to being exonerated based on a technicality)?
23 years on death row? Who can put a dollar amount on that? Mental health counseling should be part of the payout…for the police man as well! Thanks for bringing this story to all of us.
First, I applaud the legislature, especially Rep. Powell, for this initial step toward doing the right thing. I hope the bugs in the law get worked out during the trial period and that society continues to compensate those who demonstrably have been wrongfully convicted of a crime they did not commit. Your question was about what constituted just financial compensation, but to me that is the bare minimum thrown toward restorative justice. How do you put a price on the priceless, the loss of freedom and agency, the time watching a child grow up, the embrace of a beloved, loved ones who die while someone is wrongfully imprisoned, the reputation impairment, etc.? Those things are priceless and can never be restored. Fair financial compensation seems the very least that we could offer these humans.
In think the law is very specific in addressing preponderance of evidence that they didn’t commit the crime. Therefore, Debra Milke would not qualify for compensation because the court rolled in a technicality re: detective. But this case https://azjusticeproject.org/case-profiles/khalil-rushdan/ shows he would and should be compensated for wrongful conviction based on prosecutors conduct. This law is absolutely in the right direction and I appreciate Rep. Powell knowledge of the facts in pursuing justice for these people.
It's impossible to compensate these people who have been locked up wrongfully. However, I do think that the compensation should equal the median income for each year they served, plus mental health care, counseling for the transition and any costs it takes toreuinte them with their families.
There are many comments I agree with and won’t repeat but in looking forward how many are without housing, jobs, new skills? The world has changed in so many ways, technical, social, financial. Education is the silver bullet and should be paid in full. A personalized program might be appropriate. At first glance I wondered how we would fund this my thought went to a federally funded program along with the state. That may encourage other states to look into such a law. What a tragedy. Think of the lives wasted. Can we really ever repay a person wrongfully convicted? Thank you for the article and update.
Considering all the leg-work and openness to concessions, this team did really incredible work and I support their efforts. This is not only a great policy decision and a step in the right direction, but also could be super helpful to humanize ALL previously incarcerated individuals. Whether it be from wrongful convictions and financial compensation, or un-doing some of the punitive policies in place that no longer align with state laws (like the SNAP drug felony ban) these are hardworking Arizonans that deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. From what I've learned from my interactions with those who have been incarcerated, you're never the same when you come out of the system. Giving them a chance to reclaim what they've lost is the least we can do for this level of legal negligence.
First, kudos to the legislature for attempting to redress the unimaginable consequences of being wrongly convicted (I like to think most of the wrongful convictions were by mistake - but also mindful of the extraordinary power of government prosecutors and the prosecutorial apparatus). Second, I will be interested to hear from my colleagues in the criminal bar - but wondering if implementation of this program could be filtered through an appointed body similar to the parole board, whose function would be to determine whether the evidence demonstrates that an applicant almost certainly did not commit the crime for which they were convicted (as opposed to being exonerated based on a technicality)?
23 years on death row? Who can put a dollar amount on that? Mental health counseling should be part of the payout…for the police man as well! Thanks for bringing this story to all of us.
First, I applaud the legislature, especially Rep. Powell, for this initial step toward doing the right thing. I hope the bugs in the law get worked out during the trial period and that society continues to compensate those who demonstrably have been wrongfully convicted of a crime they did not commit. Your question was about what constituted just financial compensation, but to me that is the bare minimum thrown toward restorative justice. How do you put a price on the priceless, the loss of freedom and agency, the time watching a child grow up, the embrace of a beloved, loved ones who die while someone is wrongfully imprisoned, the reputation impairment, etc.? Those things are priceless and can never be restored. Fair financial compensation seems the very least that we could offer these humans.
In think the law is very specific in addressing preponderance of evidence that they didn’t commit the crime. Therefore, Debra Milke would not qualify for compensation because the court rolled in a technicality re: detective. But this case https://azjusticeproject.org/case-profiles/khalil-rushdan/ shows he would and should be compensated for wrongful conviction based on prosecutors conduct. This law is absolutely in the right direction and I appreciate Rep. Powell knowledge of the facts in pursuing justice for these people.
It's impossible to compensate these people who have been locked up wrongfully. However, I do think that the compensation should equal the median income for each year they served, plus mental health care, counseling for the transition and any costs it takes toreuinte them with their families.
There are many comments I agree with and won’t repeat but in looking forward how many are without housing, jobs, new skills? The world has changed in so many ways, technical, social, financial. Education is the silver bullet and should be paid in full. A personalized program might be appropriate. At first glance I wondered how we would fund this my thought went to a federally funded program along with the state. That may encourage other states to look into such a law. What a tragedy. Think of the lives wasted. Can we really ever repay a person wrongfully convicted? Thank you for the article and update.
Considering all the leg-work and openness to concessions, this team did really incredible work and I support their efforts. This is not only a great policy decision and a step in the right direction, but also could be super helpful to humanize ALL previously incarcerated individuals. Whether it be from wrongful convictions and financial compensation, or un-doing some of the punitive policies in place that no longer align with state laws (like the SNAP drug felony ban) these are hardworking Arizonans that deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. From what I've learned from my interactions with those who have been incarcerated, you're never the same when you come out of the system. Giving them a chance to reclaim what they've lost is the least we can do for this level of legal negligence.