Idaho Just Passed a Law to Compensate the Innocent
Idaho will now compensate $62,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment.
03.05.21 By Innocence Staff
Idaho Governor Brad Little, with Christopher Tapp and Senator Doug Ricks, after signing SB 1027 into law. (Image: Office of Idaho Gov. Brad Little)
Today, Governor Brad Little signed the “Wrongful Conviction Act” into law, providing state compensation for the wrongfully convicted in Idaho. This makes Idaho the 36th state to adopt a wrongful conviction compensation law.
The ceremony took place at the Bonneville County Courthouse in Idaho Falls, the hometown of Christopher Tapp, who spent 20 years wrongfully imprisoned until his exoneration in 2019. Mr. Tapp was exonerated from murder charges based on new DNA evidence that identified the real perpetrator many years after Mr. Tapp was coerced into falsely confessing to the crime. He was convicted despite no physical evidence connecting him to the crime.
This is great news except for the other lasting effects. So unfair. I’ve always said I’d rather a perp go free than an innocent man go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. No matter the monetary compensation if that even happens. He has lost precious years of his life that he can never get back.