GA House passes wrongful conviction compensation bill, on to Senate Chamber

ATLANTA (WTVM) - A bill endorsed by the House representative from Columbus that if ratified, would give compensation to wrongfully convicted and imprisoned people in Georgia.

House Bill 230, sponsored by GA House Minority Whip Carolyn Hugely, passed in the Georgia House Chamber on Friday. The bill provides standard and limitation for compensation, and the compensation would be paid by the state.

"Despite safeguards put in place to prevent wrongful conviction of innocent people, sometimes the criminal justice system makes a mistake. Too many wrongly convicted people spend years and years in prison for crimes they did not commit. HB 230 would outline a process to hold our state accountable for a fair and reasonable compensation to those wrongly convicted," Hugley said in a statement.

HB 230 will go to the State Senate Chamber for consideration.