Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 18:18:47 GMT -5
For this bill, ex-con will be key lobbyist----Measure aims to increase
compensation for the wrongly convicted
5 years ago, Anthony Robinson's testimony helped persuade the Texas
Legislature to begin compensating men and women sent to prison for crimes
they didn't commit.
Since then, Robinson, who spent a decade in prison after being wrongfully
convicted of rape, has received nearly a quarter of a million dollars from
the state. He's earned a law degree from Texas Southern University and
begun an advanced law program in China.
And when the Legislature convenes again in January, he will be back in
Austin to lobby lawmakers to expand the amount of money it provides for
people who find themselves in the same unenviable position.
"I mean it's just sad that people don't realize that even if you gave them
a million dollars a year, the injury goes beyond what the compensation can
possibly give to make up for it," said Robinson, 45.
After being paroled in 1996, Robinson worked and saved up enough money to
pay for a DNA test that exonerated him. His story was so compelling that
state Sen. Rodney Ellis sought Robinson's testimony in favor of a bill to
pay exonerated people $25,000 for each year they were incarcerated. He
later called it key to getting the 2001 bill passed.
The Texas law has a $500,000 cap, but Ellis' proposed bill would eliminate
the cap and increase the payments to $50,000 a year for a noncapital
crime and $100,000 for capital case to match the law for people
exonerated from federal courts.
"Robinson is just a poster child for why we need to have Texas mirror the
federal standard," Ellis said.
Ellis said he introduced the bill in 2005, but it failed to get enough
votes to come up on the Senate floor.
This time around, Ellis is banking on Robinson's continued success to help
get the bill passed.
Robinson was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a 1986 sexual assault at
the University of Houston. He served 10 years before he was released on
parole.
After the DNA test exonerated him, he received a pardon in November 2000.
Robinson, who already had a college degree before his arrest, found a lot
of support after his release. Ellis, for instance, hosted fund-raisers to
help pay for law school, and Robinson graduated from TSU's Thurgood
Marshall School of Law in 2004.
'A life back in order'
Unlike Robinson, Ellis said, most ex-prisoners are unable to get their
lives together after serving time for a crime they didn't commit.
The existing law provides $5,000 in counseling services, Ellis said, but a
person would have to pay for the services and then get reimbursed by the
state.
Ellis said his bill would provide services such as assistance in
developing work-force skills, securing affordable housing as well as
medical, dental and psychological care.
"I think the state has a responsibility to do as much as possible to put a
life back in order when a mistake has been made," Ellis said. " ... I mean
we put the burden on the individuals as if they made the mistake instead
of the government."
Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo and a member of the Senate's Criminal Justice
Committee, supports more compensation.
"I don't know why more money would not be in order," said Seliger. "How
many would volunteer to be locked up away from our families for $25,000 or
even $50,000 a year? Not many of us."
Seliger voiced skepticism about providing additional services, however,
saying that would depend on what they would cost.
Another Houston case
Josiah Sutton, a Houston man who served 4 1/2 years in prison for rape
before DNA evidence exonerated him, said he hasn't received any counseling
since his release in 2003 and he is having a hard time finding employment
because the state hasn't formally taken the criminal conviction off his
record.
"It's pretty hard when you're bouncing back from a criminal conviction
period," said Sutton, who was pardoned in May 2004.
"A lot of people don't want to hire a convicted felon."
Sutton, 24, has received $118,749 in compensation, according to the state
Comptroller's Office. He said he faced an even tougher challenge because
he was still in high school at the time he was sent to prison.
He credited Robinson's maturity for the positive choices he made after his
release.
The proposed bill would not benefit Sutton, Robinson and others who have
already received state compensation.
Robinson, however, said he's involved in the movement for the "next
Josiah."
(source: Houston Chronicle)
compensation for the wrongly convicted
5 years ago, Anthony Robinson's testimony helped persuade the Texas
Legislature to begin compensating men and women sent to prison for crimes
they didn't commit.
Since then, Robinson, who spent a decade in prison after being wrongfully
convicted of rape, has received nearly a quarter of a million dollars from
the state. He's earned a law degree from Texas Southern University and
begun an advanced law program in China.
And when the Legislature convenes again in January, he will be back in
Austin to lobby lawmakers to expand the amount of money it provides for
people who find themselves in the same unenviable position.
"I mean it's just sad that people don't realize that even if you gave them
a million dollars a year, the injury goes beyond what the compensation can
possibly give to make up for it," said Robinson, 45.
After being paroled in 1996, Robinson worked and saved up enough money to
pay for a DNA test that exonerated him. His story was so compelling that
state Sen. Rodney Ellis sought Robinson's testimony in favor of a bill to
pay exonerated people $25,000 for each year they were incarcerated. He
later called it key to getting the 2001 bill passed.
The Texas law has a $500,000 cap, but Ellis' proposed bill would eliminate
the cap and increase the payments to $50,000 a year for a noncapital
crime and $100,000 for capital case to match the law for people
exonerated from federal courts.
"Robinson is just a poster child for why we need to have Texas mirror the
federal standard," Ellis said.
Ellis said he introduced the bill in 2005, but it failed to get enough
votes to come up on the Senate floor.
This time around, Ellis is banking on Robinson's continued success to help
get the bill passed.
Robinson was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a 1986 sexual assault at
the University of Houston. He served 10 years before he was released on
parole.
After the DNA test exonerated him, he received a pardon in November 2000.
Robinson, who already had a college degree before his arrest, found a lot
of support after his release. Ellis, for instance, hosted fund-raisers to
help pay for law school, and Robinson graduated from TSU's Thurgood
Marshall School of Law in 2004.
'A life back in order'
Unlike Robinson, Ellis said, most ex-prisoners are unable to get their
lives together after serving time for a crime they didn't commit.
The existing law provides $5,000 in counseling services, Ellis said, but a
person would have to pay for the services and then get reimbursed by the
state.
Ellis said his bill would provide services such as assistance in
developing work-force skills, securing affordable housing as well as
medical, dental and psychological care.
"I think the state has a responsibility to do as much as possible to put a
life back in order when a mistake has been made," Ellis said. " ... I mean
we put the burden on the individuals as if they made the mistake instead
of the government."
Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo and a member of the Senate's Criminal Justice
Committee, supports more compensation.
"I don't know why more money would not be in order," said Seliger. "How
many would volunteer to be locked up away from our families for $25,000 or
even $50,000 a year? Not many of us."
Seliger voiced skepticism about providing additional services, however,
saying that would depend on what they would cost.
Another Houston case
Josiah Sutton, a Houston man who served 4 1/2 years in prison for rape
before DNA evidence exonerated him, said he hasn't received any counseling
since his release in 2003 and he is having a hard time finding employment
because the state hasn't formally taken the criminal conviction off his
record.
"It's pretty hard when you're bouncing back from a criminal conviction
period," said Sutton, who was pardoned in May 2004.
"A lot of people don't want to hire a convicted felon."
Sutton, 24, has received $118,749 in compensation, according to the state
Comptroller's Office. He said he faced an even tougher challenge because
he was still in high school at the time he was sent to prison.
He credited Robinson's maturity for the positive choices he made after his
release.
The proposed bill would not benefit Sutton, Robinson and others who have
already received state compensation.
Robinson, however, said he's involved in the movement for the "next
Josiah."
(source: Houston Chronicle)