Advancing bills would repeal Florida’s ‘clean hands’ rule, lengthen window for exoneree claims

Wrongly incarcerated Floridians could have an easier time seeking compensation for the time taken from them under proposals that are again advancing in the Legislature.

This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice voted unanimously for SB 130, which would repeal a unique Florida law that prevents some exonerees from receiving recompense

The bill has one more committee stop before reaching a floor vote. Its House twin (HB 59) has two more stops.

If passed, the legislation would make several notable changes to existing state law, including extending the time an exoneree must file for compensation from 90 days of an order vacating their conviction to two years.

Most notably, it would delete part of Florida Statute 961.04 that denies payment to exonerees with more than one nonviolent felony. Florida is the only state in the nation with that restriction, known commonly as the “clean hands” rule.

Fleming Island Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Tampa Rep. Traci Koster, both Republicans, have been tried repeatedly to nix the rule, to varying degrees of success. In 2023, for instance, Bradley and Koster’s bills cleared every committee in their respective chambers before the legislation died without a vote on the House floor.

Last year, the bills died unheard.

Bradley noted during a brief speech to the Senate panel Wednesday that since Florida lawmakers enacted a statute enabling wrongly incarcerated people to seek compensation in 2018, 18 exonerees have been denied for more than a combined 300 years of lost liberty.

“This bill is not about having strong penalties against criminals who commit bad acts in our state. This bill is (for) people who are exonerated, who have been found factually innocent by the original sentencing court,” she said. “That’s the universe of focus we’re talking about, and this bill rights that wrong and gets them compensation that’s deserved when the state gets it wrong.”

Florida law today provides that wrongly incarcerated individuals are eligible to receive no more than $50,000 for each year they unjustly spent behind bars. That amounted to $1.85 million approved in June 2023 for Robert Earl DuBoise, who served 37 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Several advocacy organizations signaled support for the legislation, including the Innocence Project of Florida, Americans for Prosperity, Florida Smart Justice and the Alliance for Safety and Justice.

SB 130 will next go to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, after which it would advance to the Senate floor. HB 59 must clear the House Budget and Judiciary committees before a full vote of the chamber.