BATON ROUGE, La. (WVUE) – A Louisiana House committee on Wednesday (April 23) advanced a controversial measure that would eliminate the state statute allowing financial compensation for individuals who were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated.
The House Criminal Justice Committee’s move comes after years of complaints from exonerees who say the state has consistently denied them the compensation already allowed by law — up to $40,000 per year of incarceration.
Malcolm Alexander, who spent 38 years in prison for a Jefferson Parish rape he didn’t commit, and Jarvis Ballard of St. Bernard Parish, who was also exonerated by DNA evidence, are among those who have been denied compensation despite their proven innocence…