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How Much Should Exonorated Prisoners Get

Exonorated prisoners should receive compensation of

  • $0... You had a trial - thems the breaks

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $5k/yr spent in jail

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $10k/yr

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $30k/yr - The national average salary

    Votes: 3 20.0%

  • $50k yr - the national household income

    Votes: 1 6.7%

  • $100,000/yr to compensate for the Pain and Suffering

    Votes: 5 33.3%

  • $1,000,000yr, to reduce the incentive for prosecutorial malfeasance

    Votes: 3 20.0%

  • Something else

    Votes: 3 20.0%
  • Total voters
    15
degsme

degsme

Council Member
So pretend. You have been wrongly convicted of a felony and have spent 10-20 years in jail. And now DNA evidence exonorates you

How much should you be compensated?
 
degsme said:
So pretend. You have been wrongly convicted of a felony and have spent 10-20 years in jail. And now DNA evidence exonorates you

How much should you be compensated?
Click to expand...

First thought:

US average salary x years x treble damages.

so...20 years of false imprisonment would be approx. 40,000 x 20 x3...$2,400,000.
 
I say we take it out of the Pay, benefits and savings of the very Attorneys, Court Reporters, and Judges who presided over their case.

Why the hell should the taxpayer be held accountable for Judicial Malpractice????

(Attorney's and Judges already recieve good pay and benefits, with more RIGHTS than the typical citizen...)
 
Doc said:
I say we take it out of the Pay, benefits and savings of the very Attorneys, Court Reporters, and Judges who presided over their case.

Why the hell should the taxpayer be held accountable for Judicial Malpractice????

(Attorney's and Judges already recieve good pay and benefits, with more RIGHTS than the typical citizen...)
Click to expand...
Fair enough... how much? And why the Court Reporters who have no say in things?
 
50k per year (at this present moment) seems fair. Of course, it will increase year by year.
 
Dino said:
50k per year (at this present moment) seems fair. Of course, it will increase year by year.
Click to expand...

Fair enough... that's kinda Wisconsins problem. They were one of the first states to pass such a law 100 years ago. But they haven't updated the compensation very recently. So it currently is at $5k. And here in progressive WA - there is none. Hence the question.
 
Allright, we cut the Court Reporters, Bailiffs, etc. out of the fines.

However, ALL attorneys associated with the case (both Defense and Prosecustion), as well as any and all judges associated with it, have to pay these "recompensations" out of their own accounts.

I would say about $20,000.00/year incarcerated. Yes, less than the "average" salary, but, many in prison, would not be making average salaries, while some would be making FAR more.....so, unless we are to base such compensation on what they WERE making, at the time of incarceration....
 
My answer has to be.....it depends on the meaning of the word "wrongly". If it simply means that we didn't do it, but we received the full and good faith measure of due process and our system of justice and were still found "guilty", I'll suggest that we aren't due anything. That's just the "price we pay", for being members of this society.

But, if "wrongly" means that some aspect of our justice system DIDN'T act in good faith, it's a different story. Although even then, the recompense would depend on the circumstances. I should say though, I would draw a pretty clear distinction between the person who was subsequently found innocent of the actual deed, and the one who did it, but was ultimately found "not guilty" as a matter of law.

In the former case, we may owe more to the individual. In the latter case, our debt is more to our system.
 
Doc said:
Allright, we cut the Court Reporters, Bailiffs, etc. out of the fines.

However, ALL attorneys associated with the case (both Defense and Prosecustion), as well as any and all judges associated with it, have to pay these "recompensations" out of their own accounts.

I would say about $20,000.00/year incarcerated. Yes, less than the "average" salary, but, many in prison, would not be making average salaries, while some would be making FAR more.....so, unless we are to base such compensation on what they WERE making, at the time of incarceration....
Click to expand...
OK... what if one side can show demonstrable malfeasance on the part of the other (defense attys of the prosecution such as withholding exculpatory evidence). Do the Defense Attys then have to ALSO pay "the vig"?

Seems to me that would create a disincentive to cooperate with any attempt to exonorate. Seems to me you'd be better off giving the defense team an INCENTIVE.
 
I could ask the same when you posted in the thread below I was "making numbers up again"

after making the second top post addressing you on the second, you have as of yet, posted you were wrong

Facts Matter
Got Any
 
Dawg said:
I could ask the same when you posted in the thread below I was "making numbers up again"

after making the second top post addressing you on the second, you have as of yet, posted you were wrong

Facts Matter
Got Any
Click to expand...
I admitted that Your data was correct and thanked you for it. Still doesn't answer the quesiton as to what that has to do with THIS THREAD.
 
fairsheet said:
My answer has to be.....it depends on the meaning of the word "wrongly". If it simply means that we didn't do it, but we received the full and good
Click to expand...
Hmm so society doesn't owe you something simply because it wasted years of your life that you cannot recover but that you as a good citizen submitted to. Interesting. Why do you think we shouldn't help such a person recover what they have so tragically lost?
 
fairsheet said:
My answer has to be.....it depends on the meaning of the word "wrongly". If it simply means that we didn't do it, but we received the full and good faith measure of due process and our system of justice and were still found "guilty", I'll suggest that we aren't due anything. That's just the "price we pay", for being members of this society.

But, if "wrongly" means that some aspect of our justice system DIDN'T act in good faith, it's a different story. Although even then, the recompense would depend on the circumstances. I should say though, I would draw a pretty clear distinction between the person who was subsequently found innocent of the actual deed, and the one who did it, but was ultimately found "not guilty" as a matter of law.

In the former case, we may owe more to the individual. In the latter case, our debt is more to our system.
Click to expand...


In all of the times that I have served on Juries or Grand Juries I can recall precious few moments of the court system operating with a "full and good faith measure of due process". It's more like a prosecution factory, IMHO. You're guilty unless you can afford a good enough attorney to prove your innocence.

As for complaints about the cost of reparations, there are very few exonerated prisoners to begin with and we currently pay about $50,000.00 per year just to lock them up.
 
degsme said:
Hmm so society doesn't owe you something simply because it wasted years of your life that you cannot recover but that you as a good citizen submitted to. Interesting. Why do you think we shouldn't help such a person recover what they have so tragically lost?
Click to expand...

I didn't suggest one way or another, as to whether we SHOULD help someone. I said we don't OWE them something. If you would like to make the case for a whole new theory of justice, please be my guest. After all, ours is going on 500 years old. Maybe it IS time for a new one!

Of course though, there are two sides to every coin. Our current system of justice (theoretically) depends upon the "judgement of our peers". If we're to start overriding the judgement of our peers - especially based on subsequent "objective evidence" like DNA - with cash payouts, our peers will also start demanding that we evolve towards employing objective measures, as opposed to the more subjective processes we demand now, for determining guilt, as well.
 
degsme said:
So pretend. You have been wrongly convicted of a felony and have spent 10-20 years in jail. And now DNA evidence exonorates you

How much should you be compensated?
Click to expand...

Would that compensation be tax free and if one goes with averge salary over 20 plus years since then he will be considered wealthy, and if so should he be thrown back in jail? Because isnt being wealthy a crime?
 
That is something that reallllly pisses me off.....I'd go for the seven figures but I think they'd have more of a chance with the 100K..... Often it is the result of over zealous police work combined with unscrupulous prosecutorial predation.

jo
 
So many variables.

How good was his attorney?

Was there provable malfeasance?

What technology to prove his/her innocence was available? (In my mind, if new technology frees a man that wasn't available at the time of trial... Jesus...who knows? it probably was just a miscarriage of justice. One shot in a million that missed the mark.)

Should the taxpayer be on the hook for that?

I would say no...but...wow...Tough question.
 
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