Michigan considers Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act
House Bill 4250 has been introduced and referred to the Judiciary Committee for consideration. It is a component of a list of reforms urged by the Innocence Project to address the infrequent, but disastrous problem of conviction and imprisonment of demonstrably innocent individuals. It would allow exonerated individuals to recover compensation for time wrongly imprisoned, economic damages, and physical and mental health care. In short, it would afford wrongfully imprisoned individuals the means to begin to make their lives whole again.
The increasing use of DNA testing to establish identity of criminal suspects has also enabled onclusive exoneration of a significant number of convicted and imprisoned individuals. (However, one exoneration would be a significant number if you were that one individual.) The Innocence Project has been doing a commendable job in bringing attention to this situation and advocating for legislative change. They currently report 215 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.
While DNA has been a notable new cause of exonerations, other reasons for exoneration would include new evidence coming to light. As reported by the Lansing State Journal, the attorney for one wrongly imprisoned individual does not feel that HB4250 does not go far enough.
Clarke said there needs to be legislation that also mandates criminal penalties and sanctions in cases in which law enforcement and prosecutors don’t turn over evidence showing a defendant’s innocence to the defendant’s attorney.
While it’s a start - a great way to begin a discussion,” Clarke said about the proposed legislation, “they’ve got a long way to go. They have to get at the root of these wrongful convictions.”
In addition to this proposed compensation law, the Innocence Project also lists a Recorded Interrogations law and establishment of Criminal Justice Reforms Commissions as necessary steps for the Michigan Legislature to take. While HR4250 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on February 13, 2007, it apparently has not made further progress. A legislative analysis introduced 10-22-07 noted an indeterminate fiscal impact on the state due to lack of data on potential claimants. Attorney General Mike Cox sees a state liability caused by convictions in county courts as problematic.