Freed death row inmate: $750,000 compensation 'can't compare' to 31 years in prison

[PoliticAverse]

Henry McCollum and Leon Brown served more than three decades behind bars for the 1983 murder of an 11-year-old Red Springs girl that DNA has proven they didn't commit.

McCollum spent most of those nearly 31 years on death row.

Just over a year ago, on Sept. 3, 2014, the mentally impaired half-brothers emerged from prison as free men. Earlier this month, the state of North Carolina awarded them $750,000 each for the time they spent wrongly incarcerated - the maximum payout allowed under state law.

That payout, awarded Sept. 2 at a hearing in Raleigh, averages out to roughly $24,193 a year.

Read the rest at: http://www.fayobserver.com/news/crime_courts/freed-death-row-inmate-compensation-can-t-compare-to-years/article_101862a7-2de2-5310-91f7-62500a895fc4.html

[LiberalElite]

1. I agree with them eom

[hobbit709]

2. Should have been that much per year.

[w0nderer]

3. in an ideal world

no state would issue punishment harsher than that they can pay proper compensation if they are wrong or vice versa have less compensation than the punishment deserves.


wonder how many 'officers of the court'(or state legislators) would accept 24k per year plus incarceration plus threat of loosing life

probably not very many

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. That is a totally BS amount.

I think something on the lines of a million a year would be right for false imprisonment. Especially if, good Gods, you spent that time under the spectre of execution on death row.

[Hestia]

7. A man in Ark. was wrongly imprisoned & awarded $400k + and the state took it away from him

because...

(I'm trying to find the story about him - it was the most shameful thing that Dustin McDaniels did as AG - taking away this man's state settlement.)

[Starry Messenger]

5. Totally agreed

[ryan_cats]

6. That is disturbing

That is disturbing.

They should empty the DA's and the police officer's retirement accounts to add to the award as they should no longer need the money as they should be forced to do 31 years each as well.

How do you even explain this to them? I know they knew they were innocent but when the court comes calling and says, oops, who gets stuck with that unsavory task?