Proposal would pay exonerees $50,000 per year served [View all]
A new proposal would set a standard award amount of $50,000 for each year an exoneree was wrongfully imprisoned. On March 16, Illinois legislators passed the measure out of a committee.
John Horton, an exoneree from Rockford, testified during the hearing. He received a Certificate of Innocence (COI) in 2018, after another man confessed to the murder Horton was accused of back in 1993.
Horton told legislators he was imprisoned at the age of 17, and at 41, he came home to a "world I did not understand." The transition out of prison happened by "trial and error." Horton dealt with anxiety and struggled to adapt to technology that was commonplace to most people, but new to him, such as computers and debit cards.
Time spent wrongfully incarcerated left a gap in Horton's work history. This has made finding and keeping a job hard. "Every time I have pushed and tried to do my best to show that I am worthy, I do deserve an opportunity – I don't have a work history." Being wrongfully incarcerated "robbed me of just the simple thing of self-worth," said Horton.
Read more: https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/proposal-would-pay-exonerees-50000-per-year-served/Content?oid=13358160
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