The Michigan Senate [official website] on Thursday passed a bill (SB 291) [text, PDF] that would compensate people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes once they are exonerated [Daily Tribune report]. SB 291, also known as the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act, passed the Senate by a unanimous vote and will now go to the state’s House of Representatives. The goal of the bill is to eliminate an expensive and difficult legal battle to receive compensation for wrongful imprisonment. However, if a sentence for a separate crime related to the same event as the wrongful conviction is upheld, the bill is rendered inapplicable. SB 291 provides $50,000 for every year that someone was wrongfully incarcerated, but a separate claim must be made for compensation regarding any injuries suffered while in prison. This would make Michigan one of many states providing such assistance.

The treatment of prisoners and prison reform [JURIST podcast] has been a matter of ongoing concern in the US, and the rights of convicted felons are an important part of the issue. In April US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that states should make it easier for convicted felons to obtain state-issued identification cards upon their release from prison [JURIST report]. Also in April Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe restored the voting rights [JURIST report] of individuals who have completed the terms of incarceration and have been released from supervised probation or parole for any and all felony convictions. In March the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Ohio Justice and Policy Center released a report [JURIST report] with recommendations on reforming the criminal justice system in Ohio, and one of the discussions focuses dealt with releasing innocent people. In February 2015 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on the death penalty [JURIST report], citing inadequate procedures to protect the innocent as one of the major concerns.