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Texas ordered to pay ex-inmate $2M over conviction
Source: Associated Press
Texas ordered to pay ex-inmate 2M over conviction
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas was ordered on Friday to pay about $2 million to a man who spent 26 years in prison for murder before his conviction was overturned.
Billy Frederick Allen's attempt to get the money has been a key case in developing standards for when ex-prisoners should be compensated. State Comptroller Susan Combs resisted paying Allen, arguing his conviction was overturned because of ineffective lawyers, not because he had proven his innocence.
But the state Supreme Court said the criminal courts showed Allen had a legitimate innocence claim and he should be paid.
Allen was convicted of two 1983 Dallas-area murders. He was freed in 2009 and sued the state for compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas was ordered on Friday to pay about $2 million to a man who spent 26 years in prison for murder before his conviction was overturned.
Billy Frederick Allen's attempt to get the money has been a key case in developing standards for when ex-prisoners should be compensated. State Comptroller Susan Combs resisted paying Allen, arguing his conviction was overturned because of ineffective lawyers, not because he had proven his innocence.
But the state Supreme Court said the criminal courts showed Allen had a legitimate innocence claim and he should be paid.
Allen was convicted of two 1983 Dallas-area murders. He was freed in 2009 and sued the state for compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-18/texas-inmate-compensation/55058516/1
