Gov. McKee Signs Bill To Compensate RI's Wrongfully Imprisoned

PROVIDENCE, RI — Gov. Dan McKee signed a bill Thursday that compensates innocent people who spent time behind bars but were later released after new evidence proved they were not guilty.

"It is hard to imagine the anger and suffering that one must face when wrongfully imprisoned," McKee said in a statement Friday. "Wrongful imprisonment is an injustice, and as a state, we owe these individuals the compensation that they deserve. Although it can never give them back the time that they lost, we hope that it can help them to get back on the track to a successful life."

The bill (2021-H 5470B, 2021-S 0672aa) was sponsored by state Rep. Patricia Serpa (D-West Warwick), and state Sen. Cynthia Coyne (D-Barrington). It allows anyone who was wrongfully sentenced to prison for more than one year to petition Rhode Island Superior Court for compensation and damages.

If the court finds the person was wrongfully imprisoned, it will grant an award of $50,000 for each year served in prison. If imprisoned for less than one year, the claimant will receive a little under $137 for each day served.

The award can include damages such as attorney fees no greater than $15,000, plus compensation for reasonable costs including housing, transportation, subsistence, re-integrative services, and mental and physical health care costs.

"Individuals who have been wrongfully convicted have suffered a unique kind of injustice," Coyne said. "The state has taken from them years of freedom, which they can never get back. The personal loss is impossible to quantify, but the state has an obligation to provide some remedy to people who were wrongfully convicted."