No one really knows for certain. As of early 2022, the National Registry of Exonerations counts 3,000 and nearly 27,000 years lost since 1989. However, this is just a fraction of wrongful convictions.

Unfortunately, no. A handful of states still do not provide compensation for people who have been wrongfully convicted. In most of the states that do provide compensation, the wrongfully convicted person still must file proceedings in court after their release to obtain a judgment of wrongful conviction. Many times the state’s attorneys will oppose this effort, victimizing the wrongly convicted person yet again by requiring them to hire a lawyer.

Each state that provides compensation has a different statute and often a different philosophical approach to compensation. Some states work relatively quickly and cooperatively to provide compensation. Others drag the process out, fighting the wrongly convicted person’s efforts, and sometimes this battle can take several years.

We recognize that an individual who has just been released from prison often has few, if any, financial resources to hire a lawyer to obtain compensation. As a result, in most instances, the individual can afford an attorney only if the attorney agrees to provide representation on a contingency fee basis. This means the client pays nothing unless there is a recovery in their case.

Sometimes, depending on the circumstances. In some situations, misconduct by a police officer or forensic investigator causes a wrongful conviction. This could include fabricating or falsifying evidence, witness coercion, or hiding evidence that would have helped show the person's innocence. These acts may violate the person’s constitutional rights. In those instances, a lawsuit can be filed under federal law – in addition to or instead of a claim being filed under a state compensation statute – to recover damages.

This depends. Many state compensation statutes set specific amounts of compensation, most often based on the amount of time the person spent in prison. These amounts and whether there is a maximum cap on them can vary widely from state to state. Some states also provide free or subsidized college tuition and re-entry services. Damages for civil rights claims, on the other hand, are not set or limited by statute. Settlements and verdicts tend to vary with the nature of the civil rights violation, the amount of time in prison, and the effects the wrongful conviction and imprisonment have on the person's life. We consider every angle and legal theory to maximize our clients' recovery in their particular case.