By Anthony Smith, The Seattle Medium
A bill that would revise Washington’s Wrongly Convicted Persons Act and streamline the compensation process for individuals who have been exonerated recently passed the House Committee on Appropriations. Senate Bill 5520, introduced by Sen. Tina Orwall, would remove legal barriers that advocates say have forced many exonerees into lengthy and costly litigation even after their innocence has been established in court.
“The bill is really about trying to remove some of the barriers that make it difficult for individuals who have been found innocent in a court of law to be compensated,” said Orwall.
Enacted in 2013, the Wrongly Convicted Persons Act allows individuals who were convicted in superior court and later proven innocent of one or more felonies to file claims for compensation from the state. According to the law, individuals may receive $50,000 for each year of wrongful confinement, with an additional $50,000 for each year served under a sentence of death. The law also provides $25,000 for each year served on parole, community custody or as a registered sex offender related to the wrongful conviction.
However, supporters of SB 5520 say that while the compensation law already exists, there are certain provisions that have created legal and procedural obstacles that delay relief for exonerees who have already proven innocence.
One of the most significant changes proposed in SB 5520 would remove a waiver requirement that currently forces exonerees to relinquish other legal claims in order to pursue compensation under the statute. Under the existing law, if the waiver is later deemed invalid, the claimant may be required to reimburse the state the lesser of the compensation received or a tort award.
Ted Bradford, the first person in Washington state exonerated based on DNA evidence, recently testified in support of the bill. Bradford was wrongly convicted of sexual assault in 1996 after a victim described the attacker as a “very large man,” and witnesses reported seeing a vehicle outside the scene of the crime similar to Bradford’s.
Despite maintaining innocence, Bradford served the full 10-year prison sentence. After release in 2005, Bradford waited another five years before being officially exonerated. Bradford estimated the cost of the wrongful incarceration at nearly $390,000 and said more than $350,000 in wages were lost.
“Senate bill 5520 will reduce unnecessary litigation that prevents innocent people from being trapped in legal battles for years after their innocence has been established,” said Bradford. “It would spare future exonerees from the experience I had and help ensure that when our system gets it wrong it responds with fairness, dignity, and accountability.”
The proposed legislation would also allow individuals whose claims were previously denied due to the waiver requirement to seek reconsideration within one year of the bill’s enactment.
Another provision would extend the statute of limitations for filing a compensation claim. Current law allows individuals three years to file a claim after a pardon, judicial relief or release from custody. SB 5520 would extend that deadline to six years, giving exonerees additional time to transition out of incarceration and prepare their claims.
The bill would also remove the $75,000 cap on attorney fees in wrongful conviction compensation cases. In addition, SB 5520 would eliminate the upper age limit for college tuition waivers available to the children and stepchildren of exonerees.
Lara Zarowsky, executive and policy director for the Washington Innocence Project, said several provisions of the law have proven difficult to interpret since the statute was enacted.
“In the 12 years since the enactment of the statute, particular provisions have proven to be confusing and difficult to apply. As a result, criminals who have already had their conviction overturned on the basis of new exculpatory evidence, often face prolonged and unnecessary litigation to access the compensation that the law already promises,” said Zarowsky. “Senate bill 5520 addresses those issues without expanding eligibility beyond people who are actually innocent of the crime of which they were convicted, without increasing compensation amount awarded, and without lowering the legal standard that’s required to prove actual innocence.”
Enoka Herat, policy director for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, worked with the Washington Innocence Project and Orwall’s office to draft the bill and testified in support of the legislation.
“This version of the bill continues to give the Attorney General’s office the right to evaluate all claims and ensure that claims meet the strict criteria,” said Herat. “Through our several conversations and work together, we came up with a bill that strikes the right balance. With this language in place, the wrongly convicted individuals who meet the stringent eligibility criteria can recover compensation in a more streamlined process.”
If enacted, most eligibility requirements in the current law would remain unchanged. Claimants must still prove that a sentence of imprisonment was served in connection with the wrongful conviction and must not be incarcerated for another offense at the time the claim is filed. Claimants also cannot seek compensation for any period during which imprisonment occurred for another conviction.
Additionally, claimants must assert that no illegal conduct alleged in the charging documents was committed and that no perjury or fabricated evidence contributed to the conviction.
SB 5520 has been referred to the Rules Committee for further review.
