Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Wrongfull prison time

In the news you see cases where people are being released from prison for crimes they did not comit. This always seems to be in light of better evidence. My question is are these people who have spent years in prison for crimes they did not comit compensated in any way for the time they wasted setting in jail.


Asked on 6/29/00, 12:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

Re: Wrongfull prison time

Quite an interesting question, is it not?

The answer is, as so often in the law, "it depends."

TX, for example, has a law which provides compensation for those who have been wrongly imprisoned. NM, on the other hand, does not.

So, it depends upon the state in which the wrongful incarceration occurred as to whether or not the wronged person is compensated.

Of course any person who has proved wrongful imprisonment should be compensated to the maximum, as that is small reward for the horrible wrong which was done.

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Answered on 9/06/00, 9:50 am


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