On February 16, 2010, the state of Florida compensated Leroy McGee, a man wrongly imprisoned for over three years, under the state's Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act. McGee received $179,000 under the act, which was established in 2008. Florida is one of 27 US states that allow this type of compensation, which are often referred to as "clean hand" provisions and vary state to state. Previously in August 2006, North Carolina had released the first inmate, George Taylor, to have his conviction overturned under a similar law after serving 17 years of a life sentence.



Learn more about the laws governing wrongful imprisonment from the JURIST news archive.