By Meghan Friedmann
Louisiana lawmakers are debating whether to amend or do away with a law that allows people who were wrongfully convicted to seek compensation from the state.
A state law passed in 2005 gives people whose sentences were vacated or reversed the chance to prove their innocence before a judge and earn compensation, which is capped at $480,000 and depends on how long a person was incarcerated.
The attorney general is responsible for defending the state in those cases, and the state has a fund from which to pay out compensation.
In its original form, House Bill 101, by state Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, R-Hammond, would have eliminated that fund and shifted responsibility for handling such cases and paying out compensation to local parishes. The bill also would have made it more difficult to apply for compensation.
Attorney General Liz Murrill backed that proposal, saying an influx of wrongful conviction compensation cases out of Orleans Parish is a problem for her office and for state taxpayers.
However, on Wednesday, during a House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee meeting, state Rep. Debbie Villio successfully introduced a new version of the bill — one that would repeal the wrongful conviction compensation statute entirely.
The committee, which Villio chairs, voted 7-4 to send her version of HB101 to the full House. The vote fell along party lines, with Democrats opposed to the bill and Republicans in favor of it.
“I believe that Section 1983 is the appropriate remedy for wrongful convictions involving misconduct and support the repeal of the state statute,” Villio said in a statement, referring to Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, which allows individuals to sue government officials for civil rights violations.
Proponents of the bill, including Murril, presented Section 1983 — a federal law — as a viable alternative to seeking compensation through Louisiana’s statute. But critics say the federal law would not cover all wrongfully convicted people, and that it is very difficult to succeed in such federal lawsuits.
Read the full article here.
