The state of Texas has given restitution to 101 men and women who were wrongfully convicted of and wrongfully incarcerated for committing crimes. The total compensation has amounted to $93.6 million over the last 25 years, data from the state comptroller’s office showed. This amount is bound to rise as the wrongfully imprisoned individuals get older and more people become wrongfully imprisoned.
According to The Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization aimed at exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA tests, Texas’ compensation program is among the most generous in the United States. Some states have no compensation programs or put a ceiling on the amount that an exoneree is allowed to receive. The Texas compensation program was made possible by the 2009 Tim Cole Act, which was named after a Texas Tech University student wrongfully convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 1985.
The team at the Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter can defend your rights and protect your future if you have been charged with a criminal offense. Get in touch with our criminal defense lawyer to find out more about the legal services we offer by calling our Dallas offices at (214) 845-7007.
