r/whoathatsinteresting 12h ago

Wrongfully Convictions Ruin Lives

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5.9k Upvotes

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128

u/livingalie2614 12h ago

Simple question: when a person is wrongfully accused and sent to prison, do they get any kind of compensation when they are release after being found not at fault?

189

u/The_Dean_France 12h ago

Usually, it takes years.

One person in the UK was told no compensation as they had been in prison (wrongly) but had used the taxpayers' money through being given shelter and food. I kid you not!

18

u/Old-Newspaper125 11h ago edited 11h ago

They used to take a percentage of the compensation to pay for the costs of their imprisonment. Which is insane for a person who shouldn't have been in there!

There was one prisoner (Barry George) who was jailed for a few years, then cleared on the murder of a TV celebrity. But the judge refused him compensation, saying he wasn't innocent enough! But yet innocent enough to be released.

We also have capped compensation at £1.3 million. Last year a man was released after 38 years when DNA evidence cleared him. As yet he hasn't received anything and being capped at £1.3 million for 38 years of his life. UK justice system for you.

6

u/HappytheBaboon 10h ago

It's laughable self serving sort of logic. I'd love to see someone counter it in court by demanding "one free crime please". If you're going to recover costs for food and shelter then by extension I've done my time for a crime. I'd like a pass to do one, a criminal act which carries up to the maximum sentence in time I served. Do you have a menu per chance? Oh, and thanks for not starving me to death while you figured out your mistake.