SF3376

Purpose of the Bill

This bill aims to support individuals who have been wrongly convicted and later exonerated by providing them with financial compensation. It proposes changes to Minnesota law to create a specific fund and process for compensating these individuals promptly and fairly for the time they were wrongfully incarcerated.

Main Provisions

• Preliminary Monetary Damages: It authorizes the payment of preliminary monetary damages to exonerated individuals. The compensation amounts to $5,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration and $2,500 for each year spent under supervised release or as a registered predatory offender.
• Exoneration Compensation Account: Establishes an account in the state treasury's special revenue fund dedicated to paying these preliminary damages.
• Compensation Process: Specifies that if a prosecutor joins the exoneration petition, the claimant is eligible for early compensation, thus streamlining the process without further court proceedings.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Changes to Compensation Eligibility: Modifies the conditions under which an individual is presumed eligible for compensation. If a prosecutor agrees that a conviction would not have occurred with full knowledge of the circumstances, compensation becomes nearly automatic.
• New Fund Establishment: The bill creates a new exoneration compensation account, ensuring that sufficient funds are available for preliminary payments to wrongly convicted individuals.
• Funding Appropriation: It outlines the transfer of $250,000 from the general fund to the exoneration compensation account, with ongoing funding ensured to maintain this balance for future claimants.

Relevant Terms

• Exonerated individuals
• Wrongful conviction
• Preliminary monetary damages
• Special revenue fund
• Supervised release
• Registered predatory offender
• Compensation account