Man gets $25,000 after 10 years in prison (wrongful conviction)

[Scuba]

http://www.jsonline.com/newswatch/132756913.html


..snip..

A wrongfully convicted man who asked the state for nearly $3.7 million in compensation after spending a decade in prison was given what he called a "chicken feed" award of $25,000 on Thursday by the Wisconsin Claims Board.

It was the maximum amount allowed without legislative intervention, though the board could have recommended that lawmakers consider giving Rommain Steven Isham additional funding.

A board spokeswoman said the decision could be appealed. She didn't know why board members didn't recommend that legislators consider giving additional money to Isham, who said his time in prison left him mentally and physically shattered.

Isham had asked for $3.65 million, or $1,000 for each day behind bars, and said he was considering a possible lawsuit against the Douglas County district attorney's office that prosecuted him in 1990.

..end..


Well, based on Scott Walker's plan for paying State employees, $2,500 / year is in the range.

[annabanana]

1. About $50 a week...for the theft of his LIFE!

they got off very cheap

[RebelOne]

2. That sucks. This man deserves the $3.7 million. n/t

[cutlassmama]

3. Sickening, absolutely sickening. There is NO incentive for them to pay attention

and not do this to other innocent people with payouts like this. The whole idea of a payout is to deter things like this from happening again.

[Scuba]

4. Not to compensate the wrongfully imprisoned?

[JoeyT]

13. Well, that too.

But since our entire justice system is based on crafting epic punishments because we wrongfully believe it will act as a deterrent, that should be factored in on wrongful conviction compensations. We should start at ten times what that guy got. Per year. Taken from the prosecutor's office and police budget, depending on which one hid, destroyed, or introduced false evidence. If the fault is mutual, they can split it. If it's good for the goose and all that.

[Sheepshank]

5. I suppose they deducted food, board and healthcare?

[Dawson Leery]

6. Horrible! He should have received the entire $3.7 million.

With that said, NEVER date anyone with children.

[woo me with science]

7. This is outrageous.

Yes, it's lawsuit time.

[NNN0LHI]

8. I can't believe this is allowed to happen in our society

[Paper Roses]

9. $ 2500 a year for 10 years of wrongful detention....He deserves

far more than that.
Disgusting form of justice we have. Rip us off for billions, screw the little guy.
No words can really convey how I feel.
Is there any justice for these wrongfully imprisoned people? Doubtful.

[hfojvt]

10. I don't understand how he was even convicted

Did the police coerce or trick a confession out of him?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. On the testimony of a child...

A jury convicted Isham after the 8-year-old son of his live-in girlfriend accused him of repeated sexual assault. Isham, who had long maintained his innocence, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served the term before his alleged victim recanted.

snip..


The alleged victim recanted two years ago, when he was 28, saying he made up the abuse claims. He said he was afraid to tell the truth as the story spiraled out of control, and his abusive father pressured him to maintain the lie.

[hfojvt]

14. I saw that

but I find it mind-boggling that any jury of adults would convict somebody just on the say so of an 8 year old, as if THAT proves guilt BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. In Wenatchee, Wa the police coerced a lot of confessions and got convictions that way.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. Just look around here how the torches and pitchforks come out...

.....at the mere mention of a kid.

[exboyfil]

12. Why did the boy wait until he was 28 to recant?

Why not 18 if he was afraid of his father?

Was there prosecutory misconduct in this case? If it was presented to the jury as he said/he said and the jury made the choice to believe the boy, then I am not sure how to compensate this person? It was the fault of the boy and his father who coerced him. So long as the police and prosecutor followed the law, how much do you compensate a wrongly convicted individual?

Isham says he is exploring a lawsuit against the prosecutors. That may be a more proper venue for a large award.