Criminal Justice Overhaul Includes Higher Compensation For The Wrongfully Convicted

Barbara Howard: Imagine spending decades in prison for a crime that you did not commit. Once freed, what should the compensation be for all those last years? Beacon Hill legislators have passed sweeping reforms to the state's criminal justice system that, among other things, lays out compensation for the wrongly convicted. Jenifer McKim, from WGBH News partner the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR), has been looking at this issue. She joins me in the studio. Hi, Jenifer.

Jenifer McKim: Hi, Barbara.

Howard: So first, what kind of numbers are we talking about?

McKim: Nationwide, estimates are that about 1 percent of prison inmates are wrongfully convicted, which would mean tens of thousands of people across the U.S.

Howard: So what's the problem the legislation aims to fix?

McKim: Well, we came across this a couple of years ago. We heard from a lot of advocates who said that there are people who are released from prison, their cases were overturned, they were released often after decades, with really nothing.

Howard: There is a rule for compensation right now in Massachusetts, although I understand it hasn't been updated in about what, 14 years?

McKim: Exactly. So there was a 2004 law that was passed to basically help these types of people so that they could get help, but what we heard from folks who were reaching out to either get help, or from their lawyers, that that took way too long to get any money. They weren't getting help when they were immediately out, and that the cap was really low at $500,000.

Howard: Well, how long are they waiting?

McKim: Sometimes they can wait up to three to four years. Often, they were fighting with the attorney general, really. They would have to file suit to get this money, and they really felt like it took way too long when you're basically released out of prison with nothing.

Howard: Now, the average payout is what?

McKim: We found that at the time, that there was about 67 people who had applied, so it's not a lot of people. Less than half of them had gotten any money. And although the cap was at a half a million, most of them were getting less, at an average of $364,000.

Howard: Well that sounds like a lot of money, $364,000.

McKim: Well, if you consider that these people have been spending years of their life in prison for things they didn't commit, if you talk to any of them, I think anyone would have preferred to have stayed out. But if you also think about the time — we have people like Victor Rosario, whose case was vacated this summer, who spent 32 years in prison for a crime he always maintained he didn't commit, and if you took out the averages of that, he would have made something like $16,000 a year, per year, for the amount of time he was in prison.

Howard: I know — All Things Considered — we did, here at WGBH, interview Victor Rosario. He was talking about this. He's not the only one, though.

McKim: Exactly. There's been a remarkable number of people who've been released from state prisons over the last couple of years after decades of time. They include Darrell Jones, who was released right around Christmas. He was released partly because a juror said that there was racial bias in his conviction decades ago. We also have the case of Fred Clay, who spent 38 years in prison. Now, the district attorney says that there was problems with the prosecution, including the fact that the witnesses were being hypnotized to pinpoint him in that case.

Howard: So the current legislation talks about doubling the amount of money?

McKim: Right. So basically, they've raised the cap that someone who asked for this money can get, from a half a million to a million dollars, and they also are adding in legal fees. So before, people would have to fight for this money, and then also pay their legal fees. And my understanding is that not only will this help them financially, but it will also motivate the attorney general to work more with them, because if they think that they're going to lose, they're not going to want to fight this and end up spending more money.

Howard: And if it looks like the former inmate is going to win their case, they don't really have to wait till they actually get paid to get other benefits, as well?

McKim: That's the other part of this legislation, is that people who look like they're likely going to win are going to have better access to mental health and health services, as well as education.

Howard: So up on Beacon Hill, what has been the response from legislators to this legislation?

McKim: Well, we went and spoke to Sen. Pat Jehlen, who was the author of the bill that was passed in 2004. When we spoke to her this week about this legislation being passed, she said she was very thrilled that there was more money and more help for these folks, because she feels that we as a state owe people like this a moral debt, to pay back for all the suffering that they have gone through.

Howard: OK. Thank you so much, Jenifer.

McKim: Thank you very much.

Howard: That's Jenifer McKim of WGBH News partner the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. State lawmakers have passed a sweeping overhaul of the Massachusetts criminal justice system, and it includes higher compensation for those who are wrongfully convicted. The bill has cleared the legislature. It will now be reviewed by Gov. Charlie Baker.