Over the past 25 years over 100 men and women were wrongfully sent to prison in Texas, reports The Texas Tribune.To repair the damages caused by these wrongful convictions, those prisoners have been paid almost $100 million in taxpayer money.
If a convicted prisoner is later declared to be innocent by a judge, they’re eligible to be paid $80,000 for each year they spent behind bars. That money is paid in a lump sum. The prisoner is then eligible for monthly annuity payments for the rest of their lives, unless they’re later convicted of a felony.
The amount of taxpayer money Texas pays out for wrongful imprisonment is only expected to increase as the current individuals being paid age and more people join the list. The law stipulating the payment amounts is known as the Tim Cole Act. Tim Cole was a former Texas Tech student wrongfully convicted of sexual assault.