Exonerated Man Gets Nothing From Florida PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. - [SIZE=-1]A man who was freed after serving 22 years for a rape he didn't commit walked out of jail with a few possessions in a plastic bag, and nothing else. [/size] <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="1%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width="99%"></TD><TD width=5></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[size=-1] Wilton A. Dedge, 42, didn't get the $100 that Florida gives even its most vicious ex-cons when he was released last month. He didn't get the counseling or job referrals or temporary housing the state offers paroled murderers and rapists. He didn't even get a bus ticket home. There was no compensation for the prison term Dedge received after a 17-year-old rape victim mistakenly identified him as her attacker. DNA testing proved his innocence. "The system is not set up to deal with exonerees," said Nina Morrison, an attorney who fought for more than a decade to free Dedge on behalf of the New York-based Innocence Project. "Ironically, instead of getting more, exonerees usually get less." Debbie Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said Dedge was not entitled to the benefits given to parolees because he was released from a county jail, where he was awaiting the outcome of the DNA test. Because Florida has no wrongful-conviction compensation law, Dedge will have to sue the state or persuade a state legislator to sponsor a private-claims bill if he hopes to gain any state money. Only 18 states and the federal government provide some compensation to those falsely imprisoned. Still, Dedge has received cards, cash, a computer, free dental care and at least five job offers from friends and strangers, his mother said. But he said he spends his nights lying awake. "My mind just jumps left and right, thinking about the people I was with in prison and things I need to do," Dedge told the Orlando Sentinel. "I'm trying to get a normal life, but I really haven't had time to spend with myself." [/SIZE]
well that is total bullshit, I don't really think he can blame Flordia for throwing him in jail... I think maybe the girl should be guestioned, I mean, don't you think you'd get a pretty good look at somebody when they rape you? Thats really shitty he didn't get a DNA test until now, how long have they been available?
Eye witness testimony is the worst evidence you can have for any crime.. she probably just convinced herself it was him after seeing photo's of him, and became more sure during the trial. His lawyer must have really sucked..to not have had a lie detector test done. Can you imagine having 22 years of your life ripped away from you like that....I would literally want to kill that woman...
I just read th estory in our newspaper. Fucking mad, man. 22 years. That's a llong time. More than half his life. And then just 100 bucks and no other compensation. I hope he wins a lawsuit and lives happily for the rest of his life!