By Michelle Tsai
On Wednesday, Connecticut lawmakers voted to award $5 million to a man who had served an 18-year prison sentence for a rape he didn't commit. How did they decide how much compensation he deserved?
They winged it. Only 21 states have compensation laws on the books, which spell out exactly how much you get for a wrongful conviction. Louisiana, for example, ponies up $15,000 for each year of incarceration, plus job training and help with college tuition. Alabama pays at least $50,000 a year, and California pays $100 per day. Meanwhile, the federal government forks over $50,000 for each year of incarceration for federal crimes, plus $50,000 for each year spent on death row....
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