Tell Your Lawmakers to Support Compensation for Innocent Kentuckians
Mike VonAllmen at the 2024 Innocence Network Conference in New Orleans (Image: Claire Bangser/Innocence Project).
Wrongfully convicted Kentuckians deserve fair compensation for the years stolen from them.
Mike VonAllmen was wrongfully convicted of a 1981 rape due to a flawed and erroneous identification.
Mike, who always maintained his innocence, was paroled in 1994 and contacted the Kentucky Innocence Project. Attorneys found evidence of a man who closely resembled Mike and was charged with rape and abduction a few years prior to Mike’s conviction. The man was virtually identical to the description given by the victim in Mike’s case.
In vacating Mike’s wrongful conviction in 2010, the judge said, “The real bad guy got away from us. I wish he were around so we could deal with that, but he’s not.” While Mike was finally exonerated, he received no compensation from the Commonwealth.
Right now, Kentucky is one of only 10 states that does not offer compensation to wrongfully convicted individuals. As a result, more than 20 innocent people — who have lost a combined total of 220 years of freedom — are left waiting for justice.
It’s time to correct this injustice: Tell your representative to support legislation that would allow eligible exonerees to receive much-needed financial compensation for the years stolen from them.
This campaign is in partnership with the Kentucky Innocence Project.