Louisiana House Committee Advances Measure Denying Financial Compensation To Wrongly Convicted Prisoners

One of the cruelest things a government body can do to a person is lock them up for years and even decades for a crime they did not commit. And for the victims of these egregious miscarriages of justice, the second cruelest thing officials can do is deny them compensation for the life that was stolen from them.

In Louisiana, where exonorees have already complained that they have been consistently denied the compensation allowed by state law, Republicans with a state House committee have “advanced a controversial measure that would eliminate the state statute allowing financial compensation for individuals who were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated,” according to WAFB 9.

Now, the argument House legislators in the state have made in defense of this bill is that taxpayers in one jurisdiction shouldn’t have to foot the bill to financially compensate exonerees from a different district. And maybe that would be fine if they were replacing the current law with one that would ensure those exonerated were rightfully compensated in the districts where they were thrown in prison unjustly. Instead, Louisiana lawmakers didn’t offer any legal alternatives. They just argued exonerees had other options, but those options apparently only exacerbate the existing hurdles the wrongly convicted are already going through to get what they are owed.

From WAFB:

Malcolm Alexander, who spent 38 years in prison for a Jefferson Parish rape he didn’t commit, and Jarvis Ballard of St. Bernard Parish, who was also exonerated by DNA evidence, are among those who spent years fighting through the court system to try to receive compensation. Alexander began receiving that compensation in 2024.

Ballard attended Wednesday’s hearing, where lawmakers debated whether to shift the compensation burden from the state to local agencies.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill argued in favor of repealing the law, saying statewide taxpayers shouldn’t be responsible for wrongful convictions made in specific jurisdictions.

“That means taxpayers from Monroe are having to pay for wrongful convictions in Orleans,” Murrill said.

Rep. Debbie Villio (R-Jefferson Parish) introduced a substitute motion to strike the current law. She argued that exonerees can still seek relief through federal civil rights law under Section 1983 — though that process typically involves complex litigation and does not guarantee relief.

Opponents of the bill said the repeal could make it even more difficult for wrongfully convicted individuals to receive justice. Federal suits face major legal hurdles, including qualified immunity protections for prosecutors and police.

Louisiana only pays exonerees up to $40,000 per year of incarceration. It’s a paltry amount that doesn’t come close to making up for the years unjustly taken from the innocent, especially those whose stolen years amount to decades. One can only wonder how these lawmakers would feel listening to people quibble about relatively minimal tax dollars if they or their closest loved ones were the people who sat behind bars for significant portions of their lives for crimes they weren’t guilty of.  

The bill now heads to the full House for consideration.

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