Georgia builds system to compensate wrongfully convicted

ATLANTA Under the statute, people who served prison time in Georgia for felonies they didn't commit, had their convictions reversed or vacated, and were acquitted, pardoned or had their charges dismissed are entitled to $75,000 for each year they wrongfully spent behind bars

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Michael Woolfolk was exonerated after spending 19 years in prison for a shooting authorities later determined was self-defense.

After serving nearly six years behind bars, Kelvin Bradley’s aggravated assault conviction was overturned and a judge ruled his actions during a 2011 repast were justified. Both metro Atlanta men could be eligible for compensation under a new state law that went into effect July 1. If they can prove their innocence before administrative law judges, Woolfolk and Bradley could, respectively, be entitled to upward of $1.35 million and $375,000 from the state of Georgia under the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act. It's money both men say they could use to get on their feet and jump-start their lives after years away from the workforce.

Under the statute, people who served prison time in Georgia for felonies they didn’t commit, had their convictions reversed or vacated, and were acquitted, pardoned or had their charges dismissed are entitled to $75,000 for each year they wrongfully spent behind bars. Those who unjustly served time on death row can claim $100,000 per year. In recent months, a relatively obscure office of state judges has been quietly working to build the infrastructure to implement the law. And while there's palpable excitement from the advocates who have been pushing for years to standardise Georgia’s compensation rules, there are still many unanswered questions about how exactly the new system will run. Among the lingering questions: Just how many people will come forward with claims? How long will it take for the judges to begin considering requests? And how much will each case be relitigated as part of the review process, especially the less black-and-white ones that didn’t result in a formal exoneration?