SB 860 - Under current law, only individuals who are exonerated based on DNA evidence may receive restitution for a wrongful conviction. This act provides that any individual who was later determined to be innocent as a result of another evidentiary method may be paid restitution. Such individual may receive an amount of $179 per day for each day of postconviction incarceration for the offense the individual is found to be innocent, up to $65,000 per fiscal year.
Any individual who receives restitution pursuant to this act shall be prohibited from seeking any civil redress from the state or a political subdivision.
Any individual found innocent pursuant to this act shall receive an automatic order of expungement from the court in which he or she pled guilty or was sentenced and may also be awarded other nonmonetary relief, such as counseling and housing assistance.
These provisions are identical to SCS/SBs 253, et al (2023) and substantially similar to provisions in the truly agreed to and finally passed SS/SCS/SBs 189, et al (2023), SB 1094 (2022), HB 2474 (2022), HB 1569 (2022), HB 2592 (2022), HB 2639 (2022), and HCS/HB 2412 (2022).
MARY GRACE PRINGLE