May 14, 2025
Georgia Innocence Project Applauds New Law that Creates a Path for Wrongfully Convicted Individuals to Seek Financial Compensation
The enactment of the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act makes Georgia the 39th state to establish a system to help exonerees get back on their feet.
Georgia Innocence Project praised the enactment of the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act. After passage by the Georgia General Assembly in early April, the legislation officially became law on May 14, 2025 with Governor Kemp’s signature. Originally sponsored by Representative Katie Dempsey (R) and Representative Scott Holcomb (D), and added to SB 244 by House leadership, the new law establishes a comprehensive process for innocent individuals to seek financial compensation after they have resolved their wrongful convictions.
The Act finally creates a uniform procedure for compensating Georgians who were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. Until now, Georgia provided no such process, forcing exonerees to find a state lawmaker to introduce an individual compensation bill on their behalf which would then need to go through the entire legislative process. Many exonerees, including five individuals this year, have gone through the arduous process and were still left empty-handed.
Wrongful conviction is one of the most devastating injustices imaginable for impacted individuals and their families, and the nightmare does not end at exoneration. Exonerees face major barriers after release, from trauma, to struggling to find housing or employment due to their years out of the job market. While no amount of money can return the years or decades lost to wrongful conviction, the new law will be instrumental in helping those impacted rebuild their lives.
“This is a landmark moment for justice in Georgia,” said Kristin Verrill, Executive Director at Georgia Innocent Project. “With the enactment of the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act, our state has taken a meaningful step toward acknowledging the harm done to innocent people and helping them rebuild their lives. This law brings consistency and long-overdue dignity to the process, and we’re incredibly grateful to the lawmakers, advocates, and exonerees who fought tirelessly to make it happen.”
The Act is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Georgia Innocence Project, exonerees, After Innocence (a nonprofit providing free post-release assistance to exonerees in Georgia and nationwide), Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLC’s Stan Jones, Helen Sloat, George Ray and Ross Shepard, as well as Cameron Roberts with Caplan Cobb LLC, Paul Murphy with King & Spalding, retired, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP’s Ragen Marsh, and Brian Robinson.
The recently enacted Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act creates the following system:
- Eligibility requirements: The Act requires all claimants affirmatively prove their innocence to be eligible to receive compensation. It excludes individuals who were accomplices to the crime or who voluntarily caused the conviction to shield the guilty party. Heirs of deceased exonerees are also eligible.
- Adjudication of claims: Administrative law judges from the Office of State Administrative Hearings will adjudicate claims for compensation, ensuring a thorough fact-finding process. The new system will incorporate well-established statutes and regulations governing administrative proceedings. The Act requires notice to the Attorney General and District Attorney and an opportunity to present evidence in every case.
- Time limitations / procedure: The Act requires notice to exonerees of their eligibility to apply for compensation, providing an easy and verifiable time to file – 3 years from their exoneration or from the law’s adoption. It also provides a two-year window to file a claim after newly discovered material evidence of innocence becomes available.
- Compensation and method of payment: Equitable and consistent awards will be ensured by providing successful claimants with $75,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, with an additional $25,000 per year for time spent on death row. The Act also provides reimbursement for legal and other costs associated with the wrongful conviction. An initial payment of $6,000-$18,000 will be made to qualified exonerees while waiting for the General Assembly to fund their entire compensation award. Large awards exceeding $1.5 million will be paid in equal installments over three years.