Oct. 7, 2024 – The criminal justice system is not perfect. Unfortunately, there are times that individuals are convicted of crimes that they are later exonerated for. However, groups like the UW Law School’s Wisconsin Innocence Project work diligently to evaluate cases where it appears a person was wrongfully convicted. Since its creation, the Wisconsin Innocence Project has successfully secured the release of over 30 people proven to be innocent of the crimes they were accused and convicted of.

But bringing justice to wrongfully convicted individuals extends beyond their release from prison. Years or decades of incarceration mean exonerees are deprived not only of their liberty, but their ability to work and provide for themselves and their families. Legislators long ago agreed that this injustice deserves some form of financial compensation. In Wisconsin, an exoneree can petition the state claims board for relief, but state law caps compensation at $5,000 per year of imprisonment, with a total lifetime cap of $25,000. This is a small fraction of what many states and the federal government currently provide and doesn’t approach what a worker could earn in a year, even at minimum wage.

Wisconsin was once a leader in compensating individuals who were wrongly convicted. But our state’s statutes on exoneree compensation have not been updated in decades. Because the statutory limits have not been increased, Wisconsin now has the lowest limits of any state that caps exoneree compensation. The State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors policy position states that exonerees should be appropriately compensated for the time and freedom they lost.

In 2016, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would raise the compensation limit to $50,000 per year of imprisonment, bringing it in line with federal standards. The bill failed to pass the Wisconsin Senate, however, and Wisconsin continues to offer minimal compensation. It’s time that lawmakers return to the table and increase exoneree compensation limits to help deliver justice for those wrongfully imprisoned.

What You Can Do: State Bar of Wisconsin Advocacy Network

State Bar members are encouraged to send a message to their lawmakers using the Advocacy Network. "Choose Your Own" to craft messages to any of your elected officials, from President of the United States down to your local municipal officials.

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