Bill nixing Florida’s ‘clean hands’ rule for exonerees moves to Senate floor

Legislation to help Florida exonerees seeking compensation for their being wrongly imprisoned is bound for the Senate floor after receiving uniform support through three committee stops.

That includes a 19-0 vote for the measure (SB 130) by the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, its last hurdle before being heard by the full chamber.

If passed, SB 130 — or its House twin (HB 59), which has one committee stop left — would repeal a unique Florida standard known as the “clean hands” rule, which bars exonerees with more than one nonviolent felony from being eligible for compensation without legislative action.

The legislation would also lengthen the window for exonerees to file for compensation to two years after an order vacating their conviction, up from today’s time frame of just 90 days.

Since 1989, 91 people in Florida prisoners have had their convictions overturned, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Of them, just five received a settlement from the state since 2008, when lawmakers enacted Florida’s compensation statute.

“It’s time to update this law and provide a program that’s fair and equitable,” said Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley.

“I support criminal penalties against criminals. But the … universe of folks affected by this bill are individuals (who were) found factually innocent. These are cases where the state got it wrong, not intentionally, but … with hundreds of years of lost liberty for these individuals, and this bill goes one step to righting that wrong.”

Notably, the bill would not change the amount of money that exonerees would be entitled to receiving: $50,000 per year incarcerated. For Sidney Holmes, who spent 34 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, that amounts to $1.7 million.

“That’s a small price to pay,” Palm Harbor Republican Sen. Ed Hooper said Wednesday during a committee hearing on a claims bill that would clear compensation to Holmes.

Representatives for the Innocence Project of Florida, Americans for Prosperity, Florida Association of Defense Attorneys and the Alliance for Safety and Justice signaled support for SB 130 on Thursday.

Some appeared later that day to advocate similarly for HB 59 during a hearing at the House Budget Committee. HB 59 will next go to the House Judiciary Committee and face a floor vote after.

So far, it hasn’t seen a “no” vote either.

The bill’s sponsor, Tampa Republican Rep. Traci Koster, said staff estimated that passing the legislation will cost the state $15 million if all exonerees eligible for compensation receive it.