According to a recent calculation by 11Alive News Investigates, Georgia would owe around $46 million if all 51 exonerees since 1989 sought compensation for the collective 610 years that they lost, per new legislation.
Mario Stinchcomb was exonerated after serving 19 years of a life sentence for murder, and he intends to be among the first to seek compensation.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, under the direction of Aimee Maxwell, reopened the case after evidence emerged that backed Stinchcomb’s claim that he acted in self-defense.
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He told 11 Alive, “When you’re in prison with a life sentence, it’s almost like you’re just waiting to die. I thank God that I was able to keep my soul. I kept a purpose. I always knew my case would get overturned.”
In 2021, the investigation determined that Stinchcomb acted in self-defense, and he was exonerated, declared free.
“I still hold that feeling every day,” he said as he recalled the day he was set free. “The feeling of being able to smell fresh air. Just being able to see my family.”
However, he claimed that harsh realities soon set in. His mother and brother died soon after he was released. “Those are things that you can’t get back,” he stated. “That was precious time.”
And then he found out that Georgia was one of 11 states without a provision requiring compensation for those unfairly convicted.
“I didn’t know that it took all of this money to survive out here,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about gas prices, having a car, having a dog, you know, everything is expensive.”
Stinchcomb established a trucking business, which has given him just enough money to cover his expenses. “The only thing I focused on was I’m going to keep working,” he said.
Stinchcomb is expected to get approximately $1.4 million in compensation for his 19-year wrongful detention after the Georgia House recently passed a bill that would allow the state to pay wrongfully convicted Georgians.
“I can start thinking about upgrading my business and just living the life that I wanted to live from the beginning,” he remarked. “The life that I would naturally already had been living, had I not got in this situation. I’m not the type of person that want to go and splurge on material things, I want to invest… This is going to be a major transition for me and my family.”
According to 11Alive, tens of millions of dollars from Georgia’s budget may soon be given to persons who have had their criminal convictions reversed after a bill to reward falsely convicted Georgians quietly passed the legislature in the last hours of session.
Those who are exonerated have three years to submit their claims starting on July 1, 2025, or the date of their exoneration, whichever comes first.
Additionally, the Georgia Innocence Project will provide financial literacy materials to exonerees who might soon be receiving these large amounts of money.
READ ALSO: Oklahoma man exonerated after more than 30 years of wrongful conviction
The bill awards $75,000 per year of wrongful conviction and an additional $25,000 for each year spent on death row. These payments will be made from the state’s budget.
According to Christina Cribbs, senior attorney for the Georgia Innocence Project, that sum would still be insignificant when compared to the state’s overall budget.
“I think the state budget that they approved for this year was around $37 billion, so there’s a lot of money there,” Cribbs said. “There are very few people who would sign up to go to prison for over 20 years for $1 million. We can never repay these people for the experiences that they’ve missed. The only thing we can do is give them money.”
“I don’t expect that we’re suddenly going to have, you know, dozens of claims and millions and millions and millions of dollars all at once hitting the state,” she added.
In accordance with the wrongful compensation bill language, a judge must be assigned to an exoneree’s compensation claim within 15 days of the claim being filed. A hearing must be scheduled within 180 days.
The district attorney who brought the initial case and the attorney general have a specific time to reply and refute the allegation, if they so choose. If they do, they are also included in the hearing and must argue why the individual should not receive compensation.
Cribbs stated she is not worried about the procedure overburdening local DA offices and does not anticipate widespread opposition.
“They could just say, ‘We’re not disputing that this person was wrongfully convicted,'” Cribbs said. “They’ve already had their convictions reversed, they’ve already had their… charges completely dismissed after that. So, I would hope that we’re not going to have to go into the minutia again of what’s already been done.”
The court has thirty days from the end of the hearing to decide whether or not to award compensation to the exoneree. It should take the exonerees no more than seven months from the time they file until a decision is rendered.
The bill should take effect on July 1, 2025.
