Jesse Scheckner
A bill to make it much easier for Florida exonerees to be compensated for the time they wrongly spent behind bars again headed to the House floor.
Its sponsor is confident that this is the year it’ll pass.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee voted 22-0 for HB 59, which would extend the filing deadline from 90 days to two years for exonerees to file for compensation.
Vitally, the measure would eliminate a rule unique to Florida known as “clean hands,” which bars exonerees with more than one nonviolent felony from being eligible for compensation without legislative action.
The bill would also give exonerees the choice of seeking compensation through a civil lawsuit or the state compensation process.
It’s the fourth time Rep. Traci Koster has filed the legislation and the second time it’s been cleared for a House floor vote.
Koster, a Republican lawyer from Tampa, thinks it will be successful this time.
“Politics is so much about timing,” she said Wednesday. “It feels like this is finally the right time to right a wrong in our compensation statute, (and) I really look forward to making it right this year.”
Since 1989, 91 people in Florida 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.
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, a Broward County man who spent 34 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, that amounts to $1.7 million.
“This is a good bill,” said Coral Springs Democratic Rep. Dan Daley, an Assistant Broward County State Attorney. “I’m proud to support it.”
Davie Democratic Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a defense lawyer, commended Koster on her hard work and persistence.
“It’s nice to see you get it home,” he said. “And it’s the right thing to do.”
Representatives from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Florida Smart Justice Alliance, Americans for Prosperity and the Innocence Project of Florida agreed. All signaled support for HB 59.
Koster said state staff estimated that passing HB 59 will cost Florida $15 million if all exonerees eligible for compensation receive it.
The bill’s Senate companion (SB 130) by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley similarly awaits a full-chamber vote after clearing all three of the committees to which it was referred without opposition.
