The Committee on Compensation for Wrongful Incarceration

In 2001 the Alabama legislature created a mechanism designed to compensate individuals who were found to have been wrongfully incarcerated by the state. Section 29-2-150 through 165, Code of Alabama, created a nine member committee consisting of state legislators or their designees and the Director of Finance. The Committee has authority to make financial awards, subject to appropriation by the legislature, to persons who have been imprisoned for felony convictions “of which the person was innocent.”

The Division of Risk Management (DORM) was designated by the statute to provide administrative support to the Committee. DORM personnel developed application forms and drafted operating procedures for the Committee, and maintain files of all applications received. DORM evaluates each application to determine that the asserted facts are accurate and whether the application indicates eligibility for compensation based upon the statutory criteria. These findings are then communicated to the members of the Committee through its clerk and co-chairmen for whatever action the Committee deems appropriate.