Some Say Georgia Needs Way to Pay Wrongly Convicted

Some advocates for people who are wrongly convicted in Georgia courts say the state should come up with a system that would guide how they are compensated.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia is among almost two dozen states without a formula to decide how much wrongly convicted inmates can be compensated.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said people wrongly convicted and later exonerated should “have a uniform system in which to seek recourse.”

The state Legislature agreed last month to give $400,000 to Lathan Word, who was exonerated after spending nearly 12 years in prison on a robbery charge. Legislators came to that amount because it was what he could have earned in the U.S. Marine Corps had he reported to basic training as planned before his arrest.