A Short Overview of the Statutory Remedies for the Wrongly Convicted: What Works, What Doesn\u27t and Why

In response to the failure of the tort and civil rights laws to provide a consistent remedy for exonerees, and in light of the obvious fact that the criminal justice system can never be completely error-proof, some states have enacted statutes to compensate exonerees. Ideally, compensation statutes should provide generous, rapid, and certain damage awards, accompanied by education and social services, for all those who have been wrongly convicted and later exonerated. This Article will address the need for such statutes and examine some of the differences among them