Alfredo Domenech and Jeffrey Deskovic on the Capitol steps on Oct. 1, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by Ian Karbal)
In 1987, Alfredo Domenech was accused of murder, and in 1988 he was sentenced to life in prison. He served 18 years of that sentence before his trial was reopened and the charges were dismissed.
“I still feel like it was yesterday, and every morning I wake up and feel like it’s the same day, like I never came from that moment,” Domenech said Tuesday on the steps of the Capitol in Harrisburg. “I’m still stuck in the past. We need compensation to start moving on.”
Domenech was at the Capitol along with a coalition of other exonerees and advocates — the It Could Happen to You coalition — asking lawmakers to pass a bill that would grant state compensation for the wrongfully convicted.
Pennsylvania is one of 13 states that does not have a program to compensate people who serve time in prison on wrongful convictions.
“Some of those folks lose decades of their lives behind prison bars, missing out on milestones and memories with their loved ones and friends, and losing out on meaningful work opportunities,” Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington) the only lawmaker at the press conference with Domenech. “Our time to act is right now.”