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Kentucky exonerees could be compensated for their wrongful conviction under House bill

Person being handcuffed.
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Person being handcuffed.

Kentucky is currently one of 12 states that does not compensate those who are wrongly convicted. A bill introduced in the state House earlier this month could change that.

House Bill 206 would give exonerees $65,000 for each year they were in prison, and $32,500 for each year they were on parole. Additionally, they would also be awarded a certificate of innocence and a tuition waiver to any college in Kentucky.

Exoneree Johnetta Carr was charged in the death of her boyfriend in 2005, and entered an Alford plea, a guilty plea where the defendant maintains their innocence but still pleads guilty, on a manslaughter charge in 2008. She was placed on parole in 2009, and completed that sentence in 2018. A year later she was pardoned by former Governor Matt Bevin. Although she was exonerated, she said it was difficult to find resources.

“It was hard finding a job. I got denied on housing applications. It was just hard to navigate as a whole,” Carr said. “Then, just dealing with the mental aspects of it, it’s almost like this is not reality.”

Winnie Ye is a state policy advocate for the Innocence Project. She said it is the state’s responsibility to correct this issue and make things right for those who wrongfully served prison sentences.

“For exonerees, you know, the nightmare that they’ve gone through being wrongfully convicted. You know, did it end on the day that they were exonerated,” Ye said. “It’s still continuing because unfortunately, exonerees are often freed after years of wrongful incarceration with few resources to help them rebuild their lives, and so the state has the responsibility to render restitution and to correct this.”

Since 1989, there have been 22 Kentuckians that have been wrongly convicted, including Carr. Ye said these innocent Kentuckians have faced financial challenges after being released from prison and lost opportunities to save money.

“They’ve lost years of income, the ability to save for retirement. They missed out on the opportunity to pursue higher education to grow their career,” Ye said. “We know that there is no exact amount of money that can truly make up for the harm of the wrongful conviction, but it’s still incumbent on the Commonwealth to do what it can to provide financial justice to these innocent individuals.”

Republican Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville is the bill’s sponsor. He said those who are wrongly convicted missed out on financial opportunities and parts of their life.

“Think how many weddings they’ve missed of loved ones. Funerals may be of their parents. They’ve missed a great deal that we take for granted,” Nemes said.

Nemes has introduced a bill to pay back exonerees for their time wrongfully served in prison and on parole in every legislative session since 2022, and believes it will pass this year. Last year, after the measure passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, it was recommitted to the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee.

If it passes, Nemes said HB 206 would need $12 million from the state budget over the next three years.

Zoe Lewis is a senior at Murray State University from Benton, Kentucky. She is majoring in journalism with a minor in media production. She enjoys reading, going to movie theaters, spending time with her family and friends, and eating good food. Zoe is an Alpha Omicron Pi sorority member in the Delta Omega chapter. She is very excited to start working at WKMS and work while learning more about NPR, reporting, journalism, and broadcasting.
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