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Compensation increased, but reentry transition still rocky for exonerees

The Texas Tribune reports that last week Christopher Scott and Claude Simmons became among the first Texas exonerees to receive compensation under Texas' new statute passed last year. But the story primarily focuses on the six months from the time they were released until compensation came through. Writes Erin Mulvaney ("The Price of Innocence," May 23):?It felt so pitiful just being let out of prison and feeling like you have to fend for yourself,? says Scott, who is 39. ?You can only rely on your family members so much.? Simmons and Scott were two of the first exonerees to be eligible for the benefits of legislation that Gov. Rick Perry signed into law in 2009. The Timothy Cole Act, named for a posthumously exonerated inmate, increased the financial compensation for Texas exonerees from $50,000 to $80,000 for each year they were wrongfully imprisoned...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on May 24, 2010 (boomark / email).