It’s
been a long and winding road for this legislation. When Orwall first
introduced it in 2011, it didn’t even get a hearing. The 2012
attempt was passed out of Judiciary, but was not scheduled for a hearing in
Ways and Means. This time around, however, after numerous hurdles and some
tweaking in the Senate, it’ll be on its way to Gov. Inslee’s desk as soon as
the House agrees to the changes, which modified the bill to allow structured
settlement awards and establishes that claimants must waive any other
compensation under state or federal law.
Orwall’s measure will provide a wrongfully
convicted person with:
- $50,000 for each year behind bars
- Additional $50,000 for each year on death row
- $25,000 for each year on parole, community custody or as a
registered sex offender
- Compensation for child support
- Reimbursement for restitution, assessments fees and court costs
associated with the wrongful conviction
- Attorneys’ fees up to $75,000
- Higher education tuition waivers
- Access to reentry services
