Missouri Bill Aims To Expand Who Could Get Paid For Being Wrongfully Imprisoned
March 24, 2023 6:08AM CDT
FILE – Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz delivers opening remarks during the start of the annual legislative session on Wednesday, Jan, 5, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo. The Missouri Senate remained divided over a congressional redistricting plan Tuesday, Feb. 8 as a filibuster from conservatives pushing for an aggressively Republican map carried on through a second day and Democrats raised concerns that they were being treated unfairly. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
(MISSOURINET) – Current Missouri law only allows payments to some wrongfully convicted prisoners who prove their innocence through DNA testing. State Senator Brian Williams, a Democrat from University City, is proposing to remove the DNA testing requirement. His bill would give those exonerated up to $65,000 for each year they were behind prison walls, along with housing, tuition, and counseling help.
During a Senate committee hearing, no one testified in opposition to the bill. The Senate could debate his bill at any time.
