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Compensation for Wrongful Imprisonment

Carlee OBrien
Sarah Crist
English 4
3/9/16
Essential question: Should victims of wrongful imprisonment be compensated when they are
released from prison?
Thesis statement:23 out of our 50 states do not compensate their wrongful imprisonment
victims.
Refined thesis: Victims of wrongful should be compensated for the time they spent in prison to
make up for the time that was taken away from them that they could have spent working to
achieve business and/or personal life goals, and spending time with the people that they love.
Annotated Bibliography
"Compensating the Wrongly Convicted." Innocence Project. Web.
The Innocence Project is an organization founded to raise awareness, provide direct
representation, and assist the victims of wrongful imprisonment cases as much as possible. One
way they do this is bringing the issue of providing compensation to these victims to the publics
attention. This website makes it very clear that the most important thing taken away from these
victims is the time that they could have spent with their families and friends, or working to make
something great out of their lives. This website also gives information such as reasons why
people who have been proven to have been wrongfully imprisoned should be compensated for
the misjustice they have suffered, which states are and are not required to compensate their
victims, and what can be done to ensure fair compensation in every state. This source will help

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me with my research paper because it specifically states what the problem is, why it is a
problem, and how the problem can be fixed.

Melker, Saskia De. "Four Wrongfully Convicted Men, Four Very Different Outcomes."
PBS Newshour. 9 Nov. 2014. Web.
The PBS Newshour is a media article that reports stories on highly important topics of all
sorts. This article tells the story of four men who were wrongfully imprisoned and the very
different outcomes of each of their cases. This article sheds light on the media side of this issue,
explaining how big of a deal it is in the news when someone who has been convicted for a crime
they did not commit finally gets released from prison after years of lost freedom. It also
thoroughly tells about the cases of five men who were wrongfully imprisoned, explaining how
their innocence was proven, how old they were when they were admitted and released from
prison, how much time they spent in prison, and how much compensation, if any, they received
for the freedom that was taken from them and what they had to go through. This source will help
me with my research paper because it gives specific examples of people who have been
wrongfully imprisoned and how their lives changed when their freedom was given back to them.

Erb, Kelly Phillips. "The Price of Freedom: What Happens to the Wrongfully
Convicted?" Forbes. 1 May 2012. Web.
This article, under the tax section of Forbs, is mostly about the legal aspect of
compensating those who have been wrongfully imprisoned, rather than if they should be
compensated or not. This website also tells which states do and which states do not compensate
their wrongful imprisonment victims, as well as specific percentages of how many victims return
to their old lives empty handed. It explains that even though there is a good number of states that

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do compensate their victims, some of those states have limits to how much money they are
allowed to provide these people with. The writer of this article also goes on to clarify how tax is
worked into the price of the compensation that is provided to victims. This source will help me
with my research paper because it will help me understand the reasoning behind the laws
concerning wrongful imprisonment compensation and how a number value is decided upon to
provide the victims of this issue with.

Carlee OBrien
Sarah Crist
English 4

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4/14/16
Compensation for Wrongful Imprisonment
In 1990, 16 year old Jeffrey Deskovic was wrongfully convicted in the state of New York
for the rape and murder of his high school classmate. It took 16 years for DNA evidence to prove
his innocence and he was released from prison at age 33 in 2006. Jeffrey is now 41 years old and
has received over $13,000,000 in compensation for his time in prison. In 1988, in Pennsylvania,
Drew Whitley was wrongfully convicted for the murder of a young women. After spending 18
years in prison, DNA proved that the hairs in the ski mask of the killer did not belong to him.
Drew is now 58 years old and lives his life getting by on a $700 a month social security check.
He sued the the federal court to try to get compensation for his time spent behind bars but lost
because he could not prove intentional misconduct (Melker). These are just two examples of the
many wrongful imprisonment cases involving the issue of compensation for innocent people
that have spent time in jail for crimes they did not commit. Jeffrey Deskovic was very lucky for
the outcome of his case but too many others, like Drew Whitley, are not so lucky when it comes
to the criminal justice system. Victims of wrongful imprisonment should be compensated for the
time they spent in prison to make up for the time that was taken away from them that they could
have spent working to achieve business and/or personal life goals, and spending time with the
people that they love.
On average, those who have been wrongfully convicted spend more than 14 years in
prison ("Compensating the Wrongly Convicted."). During that time, these innocent people have
nothing to do except for do their best to get used to the agony of prison life, and cope with their
complete loss of freedom and the feelings of what might have been. After years of being isolated
from family, friends, and the ability to have a career, the nightmare does not end after being
released from prison. After all their suffering, they come home to a completely different life

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With no money, housing, transportation, health services or insurance, and a criminal record that
is rarely cleared despite innocence, the punishment lingers long after innocence has been proven
("Compensating the Wrongly Convicted."). These people had everything taken away from them
for something they did not do. Society has an obligation to provide the wrongfully imprisoned
with financial support for basic necessities, help insuring affordable housing, provision of
medical care and counseling services, assistance of education a workforce skills, public benefits,
expunge criminal records for the crime in which they were proven innocent, and regain custody
of children ("Compensating the Wrongly Convicted.").
Currently, twenty-three of the fifty states in our country do not offer compensation to the
wrongfully convicted, including our home state of South Carolina. Even the states that do offer
this kind of compensation may have laws in place limiting the price value of the compensation,
making it essentially meaningless. An example of this could be found in New Hampshire, where
the most a wrongful imprisonment victim can receive is $20,000 in compensation (Erb).
Congress recommended that wrongful imprisonment victims should receive $50,000 in recovery
compensation for every year they spent in prison, and an additional $50,000 for every year they
spent on death row. This recommendation was endorsed by President George W. Bush during his
presidency term ("Compensating the Wrongly Convicted.").
The fact of the matter is that the laws involving compensation for the wrongfully
convicted are in the hands of the state, meaning each state has handles this issue in different
ways. Some states laws are a lot less fair than others, but that does not mean that the people are
not still fighting for justice and fair compensation for victims of the criminal justice system all
over the country. In 2001, Senator Rodney Ellis passed legislation to increase the level of
compensation for the wrongfully convicted in the state of Texas. Because of Senator Elliss
efforts, the compensation limit for these victims has been raised from $25,000 per year spent in

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prison to $80,000 per year spent in prison ("Criminal Justice.") In California, it is state law that
innocent people are entitled to $100 dollars per day spent behind bars. However, due to a number
of barriers that deny access to these funds, since 2000 only 11 of the 132 men and women
released from prison have received the money that state owes them by law. In 2013, the Leno
Bill was passed in California, making the compensation process less expensive and time
consuming in efforts to ensure these innocent individuals receive the relief they deserve ("Leno
Bill Ensures Wrongfully Convicted Californians Receive Compensation." Web).
Too many people, like Drew Whitley, never got the justice that society owed to them. Too
many people have been accused and convicted of a crime they did not commit, have their
freedom completely taken away from them, and then have nothing to come home to. People like
Senators Rodney Ellis and Mark Leno are fighting for justice for these victims by working
towards insuring them fair compensation and support all over the U.S, starting with their home
state.By guaranteeing compensation to the wrongfully convicted, a state can take an important
step towards ensuring the integrity of its criminal justice system ("Compensating the Wrongly
Convicted."). Innocent people deserve to feel safe and protected by law enforcement,
guaranteeing compensation to the wrongfully imprisoned is one step closer to achieving this goal
and to insure justice to all innocent people.

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Works cited
"Compensating the Wrongly Convicted." Innocence Project. Web.
Melker, Saskia De. Four Wrongfully Convicted Men, Four Very Different Outcomes. PBS
Newshour. 9. Nov. 2014. Web.
Erb, Kelly Phillips. The Price of Freedom: What Happens to the Wrongfully Convicted?
Forbes. 1 May 2012. Web.
"Criminal Justice." Senator Rodney Ellis. Web.
"Leno Bill Ensures Wrongfully Convicted Californians Receive Compensation." Web.