Utah Legislature passes compensation bill

Utah is one of 28 states that don’t provide compensation to the exonerated, but a bill that received final approval today from the State Legislature seeks to change that. The proposed law would provide $35,000 per year of wrongful incarceration – up to a maximum of 15 years – for formerly incarcerated people who prove their factual innocence of the crime for which they served. The bill would also expunge the wrongful convictions from the exoneree’s criminal record. The bill has previously been approved by the Utah Senate and today received a 73-0 vote in the House. It is now pending a signature from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to make it a law.

"You can try to imagine what it means to these people" – some come out of prison to no Social Security benefits, family, retirement or career, said State Sen. Greg Bell, who sponsored the bill.

Read more here

. (Salt Lake Tribune, 01/31/08)

Download the full text of the bill

. (PDF)

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