Exoneree Tommy Rosa with his wife, Virginia at a Wrongful Conviction Day march and rally at Boston City Hall Plaza
Together, we can change the lives of exonerees: Contact your MA Senator today
Contact your Massachusetts State Senator today and ask them to co-sponsor Amendment 2 [link to amendment will be added once available on 11/2] to the supplemental budget, S. 3290, filed by Senator Patricia Jehlen, to eliminate the $1 million cap on compensation for wrongfully convicted people and provide $115,000 for each year an innocent Massachusetts person spent in prison, by the November 4 deadline.
WHY IT MATTERS
Massachusetts exonerees have suffered decades in prison for crimes they did not commit. And even after being freed and exonerated, exonerees receive no automatic compensation from the state that wrongfully convicted them. Instead, they must file (and win) a lawsuit, where the maximum compensation they can receive is $1 million for all the years they spent in a cage away from loved ones.
For exoneree Edward Wright (pictured right), that amounts to less than $66 per day for the 41 years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit, during which he lost his mother, stepfather, siblings, and friends and endured unjust conditions during his confinement.
View the fact sheet to learn more about the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Amendment.
We have a chance to change compensation law for
wrongfully convicted people, but we have to act now.
WHAT TO DO
1. Please call or email your Massachusetts State Senator today and ask them to co-sponsor Amendment 2 to S. 3290, which will eliminate the $1 million cap and provide $115,000 for each year an innocent Massachusetts person spent in prison. [We will not need you to reach out to your State Representatives yet.]
You can find your Massachusetts Senator's phone number and email (enter your home address, then click their name): https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator
Here’s a script you can use:
"Hello, my name is [name]. I live in [town], and I am your constituent. I am asking you to co-sponsor and support Amendment 2 to the supplemental budget (S. 3290) filed by Senator Patricia Jehlen.
Amendment 2 makes a necessary change to the Massachusetts wrongful conviction compensation law. Right now, innocent people who spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit can only receive a maximum of $1 million for all they have suffered. That means that the more years an innocent person has spent in prison, the less compensation they will receive per year. Amendment 2 eliminates this unfair cap and replaces it with a system in which exonerees receive $115,000 for each year they were wrongfully incarcerated. Wrongfully convicted people lose so much when they are imprisoned: their freedom, loved ones, livelihood, and health. This Amendment is the least we can do when an innocent person is exonerated in Massachusetts. This Amendment must pass now to ensure that exonerees currently waiting for compensation can receive what they deserve. This Amendment is important to me, and I hope you will co-sponsor it and help it pass this week. Thank you!"
2. Then, share this action with your network by forwarding this email or sharing our social posts so we can get as many people across the Commonwealth as possible to champion these amendments.
To ensure that this Amendment is included in the Senate budget proposal, State Senators need to hear from their constituents by Wednesday, November 4.
No amount of money can give exonerees back what they lost, but they deserve better than what Massachusetts can currently offer. We cannot change the law without you, so please contact your State Senator today.
Thank you!
The New England Innocence Project Team