Gov. DeSantis signs ‘clean hands’ repeal to ease compensation for the wrongly imprisoned

Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved a monumental bill repealing a unique restriction in Florida that for decades has blocked some exonerees from receiving proper compensation for the time they lost behind bars.

The measure (SB 130), which lawmakers unanimously approved, ensures that while relief for those wronged by the state’s legal system isn’t guaranteed, the path to that relief is no longer obstructed by an arbitrary standard.

SB 130 makes three changes to Florida law. Most notably, it eliminates Florida’s “clean hands” rule, which bars exonerees with more than one nonviolent felony from being eligible for recompense without legislative action.

Florida is the only state with such a rule on its books.

The bill also lengthens the window for exonerees to file for compensation to two years, up from today’s time frame of just 90 days, and gives them a choice between suing or going through the state compensation process. Today, exonerees must waive their rights to sue in order to be eligible for a state claims bill.

Its success this year capped what some had considered a Sisyphean effort on the part of Tampa Republican Rep. Traci Koster, who has carried the legislation for years. After seeing it clear both chambers, she said the measure “has given my legislative career purpose.”

She also noted that SB 130’s language was identical to that of the measure she originally filed in 2021.

“It’s the same bill, and that’s because it’s a great bill. It was always a great bill. Unfortunately, sometimes the stars don’t align. But this year they have,” she said.

“We have … one of the strongest criminal justice systems in the world, and we should be really proud of (it, but that) doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Even the best sometimes don’t get it right, and this bill … all it does is open the door slightly for those folks who have been wrongfully incarcerated to seek the compensation that they’re entitled to.”

Since 1989, 91 people in Florida prisons have had their convictions overturned, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Of them, just five received a settlement from the state.

Koster, who substituted SB 130 for her identical version of the bill (HB 59) said state staff estimated passing the legislation will cost Florida $15 million if all exonerees eligible for compensation receive it.

Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley carried the bill in the upper chamber.

Koster thanked former Sen. Arthenia Joyner for “starting the movement” in 2008 by passing Florida’s Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act to pay exonerees for their lost time.

Since then, Koster said, Florida has exonerated 19 people who lost a combined 306 years of their freedom. Six spent more than a decade waiting to be made whole.