HB 178 - COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS
OF WRONGFUL INCARCERATION
SPONSORED BY REP. JASON NEMES
(BANTA, BAUMAN, BENTLEY, BLANTON, BRATCHER, BURKE, DECKER, DOAN, DOSSETT, ELLIOTT, GENTRY, HUFF, MOSER, RAWLINGS)
MORE THAN TWENTY KENTUCKIANS SPENT OVER 200 YEARS IMPRISONED FOR
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS, AND MANY STILL HAVE NOT BEEN COMPENSATED.
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE
Innocent Kentuckians are robbed of their liberty and lose years, and sometimes decades, of their lives while wrongfully incarcerated. Upon release, they face a number of challenges that impact their ability to survive, including:
- lack of housing, transportation, health services and insurance, mental health treatment, and other basic needs;
- years of lost income and inability to save for retirement while wrongfully imprisoned; and missed educational and career opportunities.
Some continue to struggle with a criminal conviction on their record, despite their innocence.
Kentucky is one of only 13 states that does not compensate wrongfully convicted people.
The solution is a universal framework that will provide much-needed financial compensation to eligible exonerees. Wrongfully convicted Kentuckians deserve financial justice so they can rebuild their lives.
Johnetta Carr
Age at Wrongful Conviction: 16
Sentence: 20 years
Date Exonerated: 2019
Johnetta Carr was just 16 when she was prosecuted as an adult and wrongfully convicted of killing her boyfriend. She spent 13 years in prison and on parole, until the Kentucky Innocence Project discovered exculpatory DNA evidence. Johnetta was pardoned on the grounds of innocence in 2019.
Under state law, she received less help to reintegrate into society than what someone actually guilty of a crime would be able to access.
37 states, the federal government, and D.C. provide compensation to innocent exonerees. 8 new statutes passed in the last 5 years.
Mike VonAllmen
Age at Wrongful Conviction: 24
Sentence: 35 years
Date Exonerated: 2010
Mike VonAllmen was wrongfully convicted of a 1981 rape after the victim identified him as her attacker in a photo lineup.
He was paroled in 1994, and he contacted the Kentucky Innocence Project for help. Attorneys found evidence that a man who closely resembled Mike had been charged with a very similar crime a few years prior to Mike's conviction, and who was virtually identical to the description given by the victim in Mike's case.
Mike's conviction was vacated in 2010. However, because his case did not involve intentional misconduct, his civil lawsuit was dismissed and he has never been compensated.
HOW CAN THIS BE FIXED?
Based off of compensation statutes recently passed in Idaho and Kansas, HB 178:
- Provides $65,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment, plus up to $25,000 for years spent on parole, in post-prison supervision, or on the sex offender registry.
- Provides access to non-monetary support services including health care and counseling, housing assistance, and personal financial literacy assistance.
- Ensures a fair and straightforward process for filing claims through the courts, so eligibility is determined by judges and courts.
- Provides a certificate of innocence and allows record sealing and expungement so exonerees can clear their names and move on with their lives.