Can I sue the state if I was wrongfully imprisoned?

Recent technological advancements, especially new techniques for processing forensic evidence, have led to a spate of exonerations across the country. Unfortunately, these developments have also highlighted what many critics of the criminal justice system have said for years, namely, the system is broken and new strategies and processes need to be implemented to address the system’s failures.

Whether its eye witness misidentification, false confessions, improper forensics, or false testimony from informants, if you have been the victim of a false conviction and subsequent imprisonment you are not alone.

If this is the case, however, you might be wondering whether there are civil remedies for your wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Although there is no way to get the months or years back that you might have spent in jail or prison, monetary compensation may, in some cases, be paid to help you get your life back on track.

Will I automatically get compensation for my wrongful conviction and imprisonment?

Although many people assume or believe that if someone is wrongfully convicted and incarcerated that they should be automatically compensated by the state for their loss and injury, there are only 29 states, along with the Federal Government and the District of Columbia, who have compensation statutes.

Unfortunately, however, even for the wrongfully convicted in those states there may be other restrictions which might bar them from compensation. For example, Stephanie Slifer of CBS News reported in an article for Crimesider that some states also do not allow the wrongfully convicted to receive compensation if they “contributed to their own conviction."

So if you lived in one of these states and you falsely confessed to the crime, you hid or destroyed evidence, you prevented witnesses from testifying, you ask someone to provide false information or you were covering up someone else’s guilt, you might not be entitled to compensation.

If you have questions about what compensation you may be entitled to after your wrongful conviction and release it’s important to review the laws for your state.

What about a federal conviction?

Now, if you were convicted of a crime in federal court and sent to prison you may be entitled to compensation. For example, federally exonerated criminals currently receive $50,000 each year for wrongful imprisonment and twice that much if they were serving time on death row.

Here again, however, compensation may be limited if your actions contributed to your own conviction and incarceration.

Can I pursue a civil lawsuit for wrongful conviction and imprisonment?

Now, just because the state may not automatically give you compensation for your false conviction and imprisonment does not mean that you may not have the right to pursue a civil lawsuit against the state. Winning this type of lawsuit, however, may be difficult because it might require you to prove that there was official misconduct which led to a constitutional violation.

Additionally, you will also have to meet other general requirements (i.e. you were convicted of a crime, you served time, and you were actually innocent).

Bottom Line:

If you were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison you may automatically be entitled to compensation in many states (assuming you did not contribute to your own conviction). Some states, however, do not provide automatic compensation for the wrongfully convicted. If compensation is not provided by statute, however, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the state. Talk to a lawyer if you have questions about your state’s laws.