HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Those who were wrongly convicted of offenses in Hawaii won’t receive further assistance.
The legislation expired without being brought up for discussion in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Senate Bill 169
requested that funds be allocated right away once someone who has been exonerated gets released.
“You’re released with nothing in your pocket, not even bus money,” said Jennifer Brown of the Hawaii Innocence Project.
Brown mentioned that as little as $1,000 upfront might assist with obtaining housing.
Alvin Jardine from Maui spent 19 years behind bars for rape until DNA evidence exonerated him in 2011.
Soon after he was released, Jardine found himself without a home.
Those who were recently released mentioned that without family support, they too would have wound up homeless.
Gordon Cordeiro spent 30 years behind bars for murder, and DNA evidence played a crucial role in getting his conviction overturned earlier this year.
“He mentioned that he left with just the clothes on his back,” she stated.
Cordeiro mentioned that he received a 30-day supply of his medication but found it unaffordable to keep up with the prescription costs.
Roynes Dural served eight years behind bars followed by eight years on probation for rape. In 2019, his conviction was thrown out with prejudice.
“When you leave, there are no resources available for you. You simply have to make your way out here and attempt to survive,” Dural stated.
He mentioned that securing employment is particularly challenging due to the prejudice against individuals with a felony record and the absence of work history.
The new legislation would have also required the state to notify those freed that they may be entitled to a compensation package.
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Karl Rhoads, and was a follow-up to a bill that passed in 2016 that allows exonerees to collect $50,000 for every year served as a result of the wrongful conviction.
Although the initial legislation aimed to assist, it had a significant flaw: it mandated that courts declare the individuals innocent.
“Our system doesn’t permit a finding of innocence. The outcome can only be either guilty or not guilty,” stated Ken Lawson from the Hawaii Innocence Project.
The Hawaii Supreme Court subsequently provided clarification on that matter.
As long as the judge’s order overturning the conviction is supported by evidence suggesting your actual innocence, you won’t have to prove that you’re truly not guilty, according to Lawson.
Nevertheless, the state continues to contest the compensation claims of the four men involved: Jardine, Dural, and Albert Ian Schweitzer, who spent 23 years incarcerated for the rape and murder of Dana Ireland.
The genetic genealogy DNA test from last year revealed that it was actually Albert Lauro Jr. who carried out the criminal act.
The fourth individual awaiting payment is Shawn, Schweitzer’s sibling, whose conviction was overturned in relation to the Ireland case.
In February, the state attorney general’s office provided testimony against it. The statement highlighted the ambiguity of the bill and argued that involving the AG’s office in the compensation procedure would present a conflict of interest.
Backers anticipate that the legislation will be brought up again during the next session and make progress.