Bill seeks compensation for wrongful convictions

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A House fiscal committee heard public testimony Tuesday on a measure that would allow people who were wrongfully convicted to seek compensation from the state for the years they lost behind bars.

If passed, Washington would join 27 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government with similar laws on the books.

The measure would allow people who were wrongfully convicted to file a claim in superior court for damages against the state. The claimant must show their conviction was reversed or vacated based on significant evidence of innocence, and that they did not commit the crime they were charged with. Once a judge or jury determines the claim is valid, they can award damages.

Currently, the only option someone has is to sue the state, but they are required to sue on some basis other than the fact that they were wrongfully convicted, such as intentional wrongdoing or prosecutorial misconduct.

Under the bill heard by the House Appropriations Committee, compensation would be similar to the amounts paid by the federal government — a wrongly convicted person would receive $50,000 for each year of imprisonment, including time spent awaiting trial. An additional $50,000 would be awarded for each year on death row. A person would receive $25,000 for each year on parole, community custody, or as a registered sex offender.

The state also would pay all child support owed while the claimant was in custody, and reimburse all court and attorneys' fees up to $75,000. In addition, in-state college tuition waivers would be provided for the claimant and the claimant's children and/or step-children.
Alan Northrop, who was convicted of rape in 1993 and was cleared by DNA evidence after serving 17 years in prison, told the committee that the hardest part of his time behind bars was "not being able to watch my kids grow up."

Northrop, 48, told committee members that he hoped they would approve the bill, not just for him, but for others who recently have been exonerated "and those who are hoping for a miracle."

Similar bills have been introduced in prior years but have never gained traction. This is the third year Northrop has testified in favor of the measure before the Legislature.
The bill cleared the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month on a bipartisan 11-2 vote. It is not certain when the measure might come up for a vote in the House Appropriations Committee.

A fiscal note attached to the bill indicates the impact on the state can't be determined at this time due to all the varying factors, such as the number of claims, years on parole and legal costs, in addition to the college costs.

Supporters of state compensation say those costs are a small price to pay to repair a life.
Thomas Hudson of Innocence Project Northwest, which took on Northrop's case, told the House Appropriations Committee that his group is aware of only five people who would be able to file a claim under this bill, including Northrop.

"The money given to these few exonorees will have a minimal effect on this state's budget, but it will have a trans-formative effect on the lives of the exonorees and their families," he said.

No one testified against the measure Tuesday.

More than 300 people nationwide have been exonerated with DNA testing, according to The Innocence Project. Of those, more than 60 percent have been compensated through either lawsuits or state compensation laws.

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The wrongful conviction measure is House Bill 1341.
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Online:
Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov
The Innocence Project: http://www.innocenceproject.org/
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Follow Rachel La Corte at http://www.twitter.com/RachelAPOly or http://www.facebook.com/news.rachel

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Lawmakers should clean up flaws that lead to wrongful convictions

There is no way the legal system can give Michael Morton back the 25 years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit. But the Legislature can — and should — try correct the flaws in the system that stole his freedom. It can and should make the system more accountable when it fails. A bill filed this week by state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would help achieve those goals. We urge the Legislature to advance the bill and take other action to prevent wrongful convictions involving prosecutor misconduct. As demonstrated in the Morton case, wrongful convictions leave communities vulnerable to criminals who remain free because others are serving time for their deeds.

Wrongul convictions won through prosecutorial tactics such as hiding or suppressing evidence or information favorable to the defense are morally wrong. But as we’re seeing in Texas, wrongful convictions also are costly, totaling about $65 million in compensation since 1992 to people who were freed after spending time in prison for crimes they did not commit.

And that is the aim of Whitmire’s Senate Bill 825. It is an important step in addressing flaws in the system, but it should not be the only action the Legislature takes to clean up flaws in Texas’ legal system. Whitmire chairs the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.

The measure would reset the statute of limitations for exonerated Texans who allege that prosecutors improperly hid key evidence or information favorable to helping defendants prove their innocence. If the Legislature passes Whitmire’s bill, exonerees would have four years from the date of their release from prison to file a grievance with the State Bar of Texas, which oversees attorney discipline. Under current law, those who are wrongfully convicted can be denied their day in court on a technicality because the statute of limitations now begins at the time a violation occurs. It does allow time to be extended if a violation could not be discovered earlier because of “fraud or concealment.”

Another provision of the bill relies on the time-tested method of shaming bad prosecutors who engage in unethical or unlawful behavior to win convictions. It requires that prosecutors be publicly reprimanded if misconduct is found, removing the option of a private rebuke. Shining a public light on bad behavior can be a powerful deterrent. For some time, it’s been evident that the system is not tough enough in discouraging or punishing prosecutors who engage in misconduct. It took the Morton case, however, to drive home that point. In filing the bill, Whitmire cited the Morton case as a “prime example of the imperfections of our justice system.”

Morton served almost 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Christine, before DNA tests confirmed his innocence and he was freed in 2011. He has accused former Willaimson County District Attorney Ken Anderson of hiding favorable evidence from defense lawyers in his 1987 trial. Anderson, now a state district judge in Georgetown, has denied the accusations. Following news reports on the Morton case and an American-Statesman editorial calling for action by the State Bar of Texas, a bar disciplinary committee filed a lawsuit in October accusing Anderson of violating his duty as a prosecutor by withholding evidence that could have supported Morton’s contention that an unknown intruder killed his wife. If the accusations are upheld, Anderson faces reprimand, disbarment or a temporary loss of his law license.

Anderson’s legal team has challenged the lawsuit on several grounds, including a claim that the statute of limitations bars the filing of a grievance tied to events that happened nearly 25 years ago — a technicality that Whitmire’s bill will close if the Legislature passes the bill.

Public safety also should weigh heavily in advancing the bill. In the Morton case, the person who was ultimately indicted on a charge of killing Morton’s wife, Mark Alan Norwood, has been linked by DNA evidence to another murder that happened after Christine Morton was killed in 1986. Norwood faces capital murder charges in the 1988 beating death of Debra Masters Baker of Austin.

The solution proposed by Whitmire is overdue. In 2003, long before the Morton case, we pointed out problems regarding misconduct by some prosecutors and urged the State Bar of Texas and the Legislature to hold prosecutors who cheat or break the rules accountable. That case involved Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern, who obtained tainted drug convictions against about a dozen residents of Tulia based on evidence fabricated by a single law officer. The disciplinary petition the state bar filed against McEachern also accused McEachern of not conveying information to defense attorneys about his knowledge of the criminal history of the officer, Tom Coleman, whose fabrications were the basis for wrongful convictions that were ultimately overturned.

As we noted, Whitmire’s bill should not be the only action the Legislature takes to address deficiencies that continue to result in people being convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. But it’s a key part of a larger solution.

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State lawmakers look for ways to reduce wrongful convictions

Posted: Monday, March 4, 2013 11:56 am State lawmakers look for ways to reduce wrongful convictions Special to The Banner-Press | 0 comments

AUSTIN — The goal is to reduce wrongful convictions and ensure the proceedings are fair, as Texas lawmakers consider several plans to amend state law about what evidence must be shared between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The push comes as a new report finds the Texas discovery laws are significantly out of step with those of other states.

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Lake County State's Attorney impanels board to examine wrongful convictions

An advisory board of citizens who bring a non-legal point of view was formed to serve as a liaison between the community and the state's attorney's office and to advise the office on issues related to crime, public safety and restoring trust in the criminal justice system.

"It is no secret that there have been several cases that have come back on appeal," Nerheim said. "It is no secret that when there is discussion of wrongful conviction around the country, Lake County is part of that discussion."

The Lake County State's Attorney's office under former leader Michael Waller came under fire for a series of cases involving wrongful convictions. In the last years of Waller's tenure, the office took legal hits on four violent felony cases that DNA had contradicted. In each, prosecutors kept insisting on the accused man's guilt after blood or semen evidence proved his innocence.

All four cases eventually fell but the men had nearly spent a combined 60 years in prison.

Nerheim said the new boards will not only review cases in which a defendant's guilt is called into question, they also will work to determine the causes of wrongful convictions and recommend policies for future investigations and prosecutions.

Immediately after being sworn in Thursday, the groups began to get materials on their projects. Nerheim said he has five cases he's considering turning over to the board to examine, cases he said he gathered from defense attorneys, defendants or family members of defendants.

"We can't look at every case," said Nerheim, who said he will allow matters at the appellate court level to "run (their) course."

Nerheim said he had not made a final decision on which cases the board will first review.

But he has already denied review of one case. Defense attorney Paul DeLuca asked Nerheim to take up the case of Melissa Calusinski, a woman found guilty in 2011 of the 2009 murder of a Deerfield toddler at the day care where she worked.

Nerheim said that though not taking up cases that are on appeal isn't a "hard and fast rule," he said in Calusinski's case, "there wasn't anything that gave me particular concern."

Both boards are expected to meet once a month. While they will render their opinions to Nerheim, he said the ultimate decision will lie with him.

"I wanted to have independent, experienced, fresh sets of eyes on us," he said.

Members of the case review board include Robert Baizer, a trial lawyer and former Lake County prosecutor focused on serious personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases; retired DuPage County Circuit Court Associate Judge Peter Dockery, who began his career as a prosecutor in the DuPage County state's attorney's office; Nicholas Ivarone, a private attorney and former Cook County prosecutor and supervisor of the organized crime unit; civil litigator Ennedy Rivera, who specializes in immigration, civil and federal litigation and is the current president of the Lake County YWCA; Emilio Santi, a retired 19th Judicial Circuit judge and an attorney in private practice who co-founded and served as supervising judge of the Lake County mandatory annexed arbitration program; and Frank Zera, a former Cook County prosecutor and assistant attorney general with the Illinois Attorney General's office who chairs the Department for Criminal Justice at the College of Lake County.

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