Texas man wrongly put away for 18 years denied compensation after legal glitch

[IWannaKnow]

How badly can you treat one person? Texas seems to have surpassed all with this, this is pathetic:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...r-legal-glitch

Texas man wrongly put away for 18 years denied compensation after legal glitch
By Liz Goodwin
Wed Feb 16, 5:00 pm ET

A courtroom technicality has cost a wrongly convicted Texas man the compensation that would otherwise be due him for the 18 years he'd served in Texas prison--14 of which he spent on Death Row.

Anthony Graves would have received $1.4 million in compensation if only the words "actual innocence" had been included in the judge's order that secured Graves's release from prison. The Comptroller's office decided the omission means Graves gets zero dollars, writes Harvey Rice at the Houston Chronicle, even though the prosecutor, judge, and defense all agreed at trial he is innocent.

much more at link~

[LaLaw2000]

I am happy for an innocent man to be free. He did lose these years of his life and I feel he should be compensated for it, but even compensation cannot give those years back to him. It can, however, help him to get started in 'free' life again.

In my opinion, something should be done to fix this error.

[SoSueMe]

Originally Posted by LaLaw2000

I am happy for an innocent man to be free. He did lose these years of his life and I feel he should be compensated for it, but even compensation cannot give those years back to him. It can, however, help him to get started in 'free' life again.

In my opinion, something should be done to fix this error.

IMO, something should be done to fix that tort law also. He should go ahead and file suit in Federal court, hoping they will settle for more than the $200,000. Perhaps it won't be the $1.4 million, but much better than the $200,000?

[LolaMoon08]

This is just wrong. Yes, he will never get back those years of his life, but the man deserves compensation. He has to rebuild a life outside of those prison walls. He is going to need some serious counseling to reintroduce himself into society. The poor man probably has some social issues being in solitary confinement (Death Row) for so long. I can only imagine the pent up anger he has inside... which is 100% understandable for someone whose life was literally taken from them. He was treated like an animal. Locked in a cage. I just can not imagine.

1.4 million dollars isn't even enough for 18 years. In situations like this, I think about if this was someone in my family and they were forced to live this nightmare. Poor man!

[not_my_kids]

This man woke up in a nightmare every day for 18 years. 18 years. No ability to work, no ability to better himself in any way, no family, no real friends, no anything. It's not like he was a trust fund baby that could walk out of prison and still be provided for.

Now, the nightmare is over, he is a free man...free to stand in line at the food bank, free to attempt futilely to find some way to obtain the therapy and training he will need to reenter society, free to attempt to find a job while trying to explain that huge gap in his work history. God, if I were him, I'd probably just try to go back to jail, seems that there is more justice in the walls than out of them. This poor guy. How much bad luck can one man have?

[fran]

I hope he finds a lawyer who spots a 'loop hole' in the Texas statute and takes them for more than the $1.4M.

I don't know how these people sleep at night, knowing they ruined this man's life and now they're doing it again.

Disgraceful,
JMHO
fran

[drip~drop]

This totally s*ck$!
18 lost years,isolated....all for nothing. Poor guy!
1.4 million just doesn't seem like enough. And I suppose he'd have to pay taxes on that money too?

[alsmom]

I wish I could say that was unbelievable, but I seem to recall another guy that didn't get his because he had a felony drug charge when he was very young. I don't give a crap. If you are wrongfully put in prison, you should be compensated accordingly. I can't imagine the mental torture a person would have knowing they were part of the "only 1%" wrongfully put in prison. I'm not sure what the actual percentage is, but it's often spoken of as though it's a throwaway number. It's 100% if it happens to you or a family member. So wrong

[legalmaniac]

Even if he could only be awarded $200,000 in civil court, he needs to sue the DA who refuses to help with the proper documentation