BILL NUMBER: S5370
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the court of claims act and the tax law, in relation to
claims for unjust conviction; to amend the education law, in relation to
establishing wrongful conviction recovery scholarships; and to amend the
civil service law, in relation to allowing additional credits for the
wrongfully convicted
 
PURPOSE:
To provide compensation and other benefits in the Court of Claims for
people who have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated in New York
State.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Sets forth the name of this act as the "wrongful conviction
recovery act."
Section 2: Amends section 8-b of the court of claims act, as added by
chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter
210 of the laws of 2007.
Section 3: Amends subsection (c) of section 612 of the tax law by adding
a new paragraph 43.
Section 4: Amends the education law by adding a new section 668-h.
Section 5: Amends the civil service law by adding a new section 85-d.
Section 6: Sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
There have been approximately 1,810 exonerations of wrongfully convicted
individuals nationwide since 1989; 214 of them in New York State. Of
those exonerated in New York, 38 were based on DNA evidence, eight of
which occurred in the past 5 years. There have also been exonerations in
non-DNA cases involving false confessions, eyewitness error, false
evidence, and police, prosecutor or judicial misconduct. In New York
State, the total years served for those who were exonerated was in
excess of 2,000, averaging 9.74 years in prison per person for crimes
they did not commit. In 2014, the Brooklyn DA created the Conviction
Review Unit (CRU), which has exonerated 20 people through 2016.
One recent set of exonerations from the CRU involved three men who were
found guilty of starting a fire that killed a mother and her five chil-
dren in 1980 inside a Park Slope brownstone. The CRU "concluded that the
single eyewitness who connected them to the crime was a habitual liar
who recanted on her death bed" and that the science used to determine
that the fire was arson was in fact junk science. Current fire experts
determined that the fire was probably accidental. Two of the exonerated
defendants served over 30 years each in prison and the third died behind
bars. People who are wrongfully convicted often spend decades in prison
and emerge with no money and few job skills, have not worked long enough
to receive social security benefits, and have little or no financial
support from family or friends. They may need extensive therapy, have
medical issues, or simply be too old to participate significantly in the
work force. It is imperative that the State compensate these individuals
for the time they have been wrongfully incarcerated and give them the
ability to make a fresh start in the years remaining to them. This bill
would give the Court of Claims the authority to provide broad financial
relief to such individuals and to g ive them health benefits and access
to re-entry programs.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: Refer-red to Judiciary in 2019 and Referred to Judiciary in
2020.
2017-2018: Referred to Judiciary in 2017 and Referred to Judiciary in
2018.
2016: Referred to Judiciary.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to claims filed
on and after such date.

Statutes affected:
S5370: 612 tax law, 612(c) tax law