Reentry

Compensation

Some states and countries have enacted laws to provide compensation for wrongfully convicted individuals following their exoneration and release from prison.  The theory behind compensation is to attempt to give the wronged individual support to get their life back together.

Compensation as represented by paper and coin money

In some states where laws dictate compensation, innocent individuals who were wrongly convicted often do not receive the compensation they deserve due to technicalities or strict standards. Even if compensation statutes exist, they are usually too restrictive in determining who qualifies for compensation, and there are limits on the amount they can receive.

Once released, those who have been exonerated face numerous challenges when trying to rebuild their lives. Unlike parolees who receive some money and services to help them reintegrate into society, innocent incarcerated people get no financial support, and there are few programs to aid in their adjustment. Advocates argue that besides monetary compensation, exonerated individuals should receive non-monetary compensation, including reentry services immediately after release, comparable to what parolees receive. These services should be tailored to the specific needs of those wrongfully convicted.

Despite the attention they may initially receive upon release, the exonerated often struggle in the aftermath. After the publicity fades away, they are left with emotional scars from years of battling a system that rarely acknowledges its errors or offers apologies. While many of the exonerated demonstrate remarkable courage and determination, assuming they possess the skills and mental strength to navigate a world that has become unfamiliar to them is overly optimistic. Although experts agree that those wrongfully incarcerated deserve compensation, the justice system is slow to act, leaving individuals who have endured years or even decades of wrongful imprisonment to fend for themselves.

California has long recognized its obligation to compensate the innocent for their wrongful incarceration. However, the process was inefficient, unduly burdensome, and not consistently just. Previous law allowed a wrongfully incarcerated individual to petition the California Victim’s Compensation Board (VCB) within ten years of their release for compensation of $140 for each day of their wrongful incarceration. However, in order to receive compensation, exonerated persons had to prove either to a court or to the VCB by a preponderance of the evidence, that a crime was either not committed or, if committed, that they were not the perpetrator of the crime. For our clients, a court has already found that they were wrongfully convicted by the State and reversed their conviction, restoring the presumption of innocence. Yet, even though the State has dismissed the charges or the person was acquitted after a retrial the individual had to then, through additional litigation, affirmatively prove that they are innocent to receive compensation.  The claims process typically took 2.5 years to complete and involved lengthy litigation, leaving many of our clients without compensation at all.

In 2021, the California Innocence Coalition fought to pass Senate Bill 446 (SB 446). SB 446 ensures a more fair process by shifting the burden of proof to the state to prove why an individual is not entitled to compensation. Instead of placing the burden of proof on the claimant to prove to the Victims Compensation Board that they are factually innocent, the burden instead shifts to the Attorney General to object to only those claims in which they believe the person should not be compensated. The Attorney General must then prove by clear and convincing evidence that the claimant is not entitled to compensation. 

Since the enactment of SB 446, more exonerated people have been compensated for their years behind bars unjustly making California one of the few leaders in the fight to fairly compensate the exonerated.