House approves $700K for man cleared of rape charge
Jerome White would be paid more than $700,000 by the state of Georgia for being wrongly convicted of rape under a resolution approved in the House on Friday.
White, now 48, was convicted in 1979 of raping, robbing and beating a Merriwhether County woman. Years later, White become one of a handful of Georgia prisoners proved innocent through DNA testing that was not available at the time of his conviction.
If the resolution is approved by the Senate and signed into law by the governor, White would receive the money in annual payments over the next 20 years as long as he is not convicted of another felony crime.
The vote in the House was more lopsided than the debate on the resolution would have suggested.
A number of Republicans raised concern over the payments, because while White was exonerated of the rape, robbery and assault charges, he was also found guilty of a separate burglary charge. He also later, while on parole for the rape conviction, was convicted of separate crimes and was in prison when DNA exonerated him of the earlier rape conviction.
Rep. Carolyn Hugely (D-Columbus), who sponsored the resolution, worked to get her colleagues to focus on the fact that had White been a first-time offender charged with burglary, he likely would not have received jail time. White was convicted of the separate burglary charge when he was also convicted of rape.
Hugely also said White’s life would have been much different had he not been wrongfully convicted of the rape charge.
“We’re not asking you to compensate him for crimes for which he was guilty,” Hugely said. “We’re asking you to compensate him for what he was innocent for.”
But Reps. Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross) and Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) argued that it’s unusual for the state to approve a compensation resolution for someone who, while innocent of one charge, was guilty of another.
Bearden made a motion to table the resolution, but that vote failed overwhelmingly. The vote to approve the payment was 122-34.
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46 comments Add your comment
JAMES
March 20th, 2009
12:20 pm
You have insulted this man by paying only 35k per year. Are you going to tax it too you heartless bastards. Yes that includes you Perdue. I am ashamed and angry at the decision to amortize restitution. Pay all 700k in one ck and do not tax a nickle of it.
Adam
March 20th, 2009
12:31 pm
Spend…spend…spend…that’s all these Democrats want to do.
Marvelous Marvin Waggler
March 20th, 2009
12:39 pm
Let me guess, the GOP is reluctant because Mr. White … isn’t.
Randall
March 20th, 2009
12:53 pm
Are you nutts? You put a man in jail for a crime he didn’t committ and THEN have the nerve to act like Jesus? The State of Georgia owes this man more than $700k. That’s like receiving $35k a year of 20 years. The lottery has better payouts than this. This state is getting worse with its hypocrisy. GUBNOR Perdue is challenging the Voting Rights Act, while the state has double digit unemployment and a deficit. Really.
DA
March 20th, 2009
1:00 pm
Adam, its the republicans that run Georgia….sto think before you speak.
matt
March 20th, 2009
1:01 pm
‘had white been a first-time offender charged with burglary, he likely would not have received jail time’
What? No wonder we have a crime problem…
Bob
March 20th, 2009
1:14 pm
The man is a criminal none-the-less and I’m against giving away free money to criminals.
I’m glad there is a provision that he stops getting payments as soon as he commits a crime. He’ll likely only receive 1 payment so I’m not too worried.
All that being said, there’s not a chance in the world I’d spend 20 years in jail for $700,000. The better part of this poor guy’s life was ruined. I hope he stays out of trouble because goodness knows he’s already suffered enough.
justice isserved
March 20th, 2009
1:24 pm
You are so full of crap. If you unjustly served the majority of your life in prison for something you did not do, you would want-NO DESERVE- to get some type of compensation! That has nothing to do with being democratic or not it is just morally right, Adam! You should be careful and not make people think you are a complete idiot
Penguinmom
March 20th, 2009
1:25 pm
Unless I’m mistaken, this man was convicted by a Jury of his peers. The state is supposed to find who they think did the crime based on evidence available and then the jury is supposed to figure out if they are correct. Perhaps his defense attorney should shoulder the responsibility for doing a poor job of getting an innocent man acquitted.
I can see some sort of compensation but paying the man $700,000 is rather absurd. It turns out that he was a criminal so the state had some basis for thinking he might have been involved in this particular crime. The particular DNA testing wasn’t available at the time.
We are in a recession. The state is cutting jobs and services. Does one man really deserve $700,000 for a mistake that was corrected when new technology became available.
BravesFan79
March 20th, 2009
1:41 pm
Sounds like this guy wasnt a complete angel, and if not in jail, probably would of done worse crimes. I say give the guy no more than 100K….. and be done with it.
Randel: common man you think this man would of made 35K/ year? lol…
yea im sure he was just about to go from breaking in houses to finishing up his Computer Science degree huh? lol… yea right……
Sweet Trouble
March 20th, 2009
1:45 pm
Penguinmom,
Suppose you were arrested for a crime which you did not commit. Suppose you met the perpetrators description and happened to be in the area. Suppose based on circumstantial evidence a jury of your “peers” wrongly convicted you of that crime. You were sentenced to 20 years, taken away from your family, friends, fired from your job. Would you really feel that after all that time if new technology became available the state would owe you nothing? It is the states job through its police, detectives, prosecutors and judges to bring the correct person to court with charges in the first place. Many people can’t even afford the type of defense attorney who would really be able to prove their innocence anyway and they get stuck with an overworked State appointed attorney. Jurors are constantly being fed that crap about reasonable doubt which is designed by the state to just hurry up and put people away. Perhaps you should place your clearly over privileged self into someone else’s shoes.
pokey
March 20th, 2009
1:45 pm
I think Adam was trying to be funny.
Mike
March 20th, 2009
1:48 pm
What an embarrassment. Regardless of whether this individual is/was a stellar citizen, to offer him $700K for 30 years of his life….AND THEN pay it out over 20 years is preposterous. Let me guess….the $700k is BEFORE taxes.
Too bad he doesn’t work for Bears/Stearns, AIG, or Citigroup. He’d get millions up front with no questions asked.
Hope he decides to get a good civil rights attorney. I’m not a minority and even I am astounded.
Penguinmom
March 20th, 2009
1:54 pm
I said that some compensation is reasonable but $700,000 seems over the top. That’s $35,000 a year for 20 years. Did he do 20 years in jail for this crime?
I certainly feel bad for the man. Obviously, his life was forever changed by that conviction. This just seems like a bad precedent to set. Will every person who ever gets wrongly convicted be paid nearly a million dollars?
The justice system is not perfect. Juries make mistakes. But it is the system we have and it is a lot better than other parts of the world.
Some level of compensation may be called for, just not sure the amount is justified.
Str8 Talk
March 20th, 2009
1:57 pm
First there is no such thing as a jury of your peers. Every person has the right to a trial with a “fair and impartial jury”, not a jury of your “peers”.
Second, everybody can be self-righteous when talking about somebody else. So most of the comments posted so far does not surprise me.
theman
March 20th, 2009
2:11 pm
hey Penguinmom how about you spend the next 20 years in jail for something you didn’t do and then let me get your opinion on this.
John
March 20th, 2009
2:20 pm
Most first time burglars in most counties in Georgia go to prison for several years. I guess they receive slaps on the wrist in Atlanta but that is not the case in the rest of the state. He should not receive compensation since he was convicted of a felony. Gov. Perdue should veto this bill and use the money for those who deserve it.
Kevin Tucker
March 20th, 2009
2:22 pm
Was this guy not convicted by a jury of his peers in a fair trial? Just because technology was not at the point where he could have been exonerated at the time does not mean he did not get due process. How can states be responsible for a conviction of an innocent person unless they did something outside the law?
This is insane
March 20th, 2009
2:43 pm
Those idiots under the Gold Dome are……geeeez I can’t find the words. $35,000 a year huh. Do you realize that is less than they spend on ther bar-b-que supper at the beginning of the legislature. Amazing
Absolem Malakesh
March 20th, 2009
2:47 pm
Guilty men are often convicted of crimes they have not committed in the State of Georgia. My brother in law was convicted and died in prison of a crime pursued on circumstantial evidence. This was a man who wouldn’t even curse. I believe God reserves a special place for district attorneys who pursue such a case. Upon convition, the ‘judge’ gave him the maximum despite the lack of hard evidence and NO previous record. Mr. White was lucky science was on his side so the DA’s and judges could not take his life entirely.
Big Man
March 20th, 2009
2:50 pm
It’s funny how people pretend to be angels. Most of you guys have broken some type of law. You guys are quick to criticize someone else however, if you were in that situation you will probably want more than 700,000. And the sad thing is, you will be rewarded more then 700,000 because you of skin color. I feel he should have received more money because time is precious. You can’t replace time unless you have a time machine which I’m almost certain you don’t have.
Penguinmom,
I have never seen in modern time any African American convicted by a jury of their peers. Maybe, for you guys but not for us. It seems that we get an all white jury or something other than our peers and get the book thrown at us. The justice system is not perfect nor will it ever be however, it looks like when it comes to African Americans they have made a lot of mistakes. We all know why the system is like that.
Mamibo
March 20th, 2009
2:52 pm
Penguinmom can’t count either. 1979-2007 is almost 30 years!!!
John
March 20th, 2009
3:14 pm
**True, a jury convicted him but it would not have been put before a jury if the police and DA not screwed up royally. Juries are only allowed to have the evidence that is spoon fed to them. They can not make their own investigation or ask for background info or anything else. Sometimes police and DAs misconduct is apalling. Look at the Duke lacrosse players being railroaded by disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong, the city of Durham and the police detectives who handled the investigation.**
Vic
March 20th, 2009
3:15 pm
I assume everyone is ignoring BravesFan79’s comment. I’ve read his comments before on other stories and they all sound the same: some racist bull he can say while using the veil of the internet and a user name to protect him… racist bastid.
ALR
March 20th, 2009
3:43 pm
I make $35,000 a year and I did not break any laws! Democrats….. I think that his getting $35,000 a year is more than enough compensation.
crackbaby
March 20th, 2009
3:59 pm
The man is 48. He was convicted at 18 and spent the best years of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit. He’s also had to wait this long for any restitution and such restitution is determined by the self-serving lechers in the legislature (hey, say “lechers in the legislature” real fast 3X in a row, LOL). Talk about cruel and unusual punishment…
The government stole his freedom (and subjected him to all that goes on in prison). Give him a million. Now. Tax free.
KGray
March 20th, 2009
4:01 pm
You Georgia lesislatures are some of the most prjudice ignorant imbeciles including the fat Sonny Perdue that has ever been elected to a political office. I feel sorry for us to call ourselves Georgians knowing that his individual should be compensated for being falsely accused. I’m sure the accuser was probably some nasty lying fat White woman who was caught and screamed RAPE.
BravesFan79
March 20th, 2009
4:04 pm
If whites are such the terrible racist in this country….then how come 90% of interracial crime…. is Black on White? When hate crime laws… apply to ALL races… THEN things will be equal!!
I'Joni
March 20th, 2009
4:10 pm
Wow! That dude makes more money than me, and I work everyday! But then again, I am a state employee :/
Kevin Tucker
March 20th, 2009
4:20 pm
John, I’m assuming the man had an attorney that worked for him. Juries must make decisions based on the evidence that is presented; “spoon fed” or not. I have seen no mention of misconduct by the DA or anyone connected to the trial. Perhaps I am uninformed on this aspect and would appreciate knowing what the DA did improperly.
Furthermore, your reference to the Duke lacross players seem to support my position rather than refute it. These young men were exonerated because the system eventually worked for them. They were not guilty and that fact came to light in the end.
What?
March 20th, 2009
4:20 pm
Kevin Tucker, that made no sense. “How can states be responsible for a conviction of an innocent person unless they did something outside the law?” I am pretty sure that there are many people that have been convicted of crimes they did not commit, and have never committed a crime ever in there life time.
What?
March 20th, 2009
4:31 pm
I certainly hope that he puts his compensation to good use, I kind of sitting on the fence with the full payment of compensation or the increments that have been approved. I am sure that he should receive compensation for the lost time he can never get back because of a wrongful conviction. I guess if he did not have a record of crimes such as burglary, he should receive full compensation up front. I think with those crimes on his record the clause is justified that if he commits a crime his payments will stop.
Mark
March 20th, 2009
4:41 pm
If he was hung like he was supposed to be, this wouldn’t be an issue.
Bob
March 20th, 2009
4:53 pm
I bet all of the people who think the guy should get even more money are not taxpayers.
Remember it takes $584,000 dollars, or 25 average city of Atlanta residents, working to make enough money to pay this one man.
Money is not free and the government does not have an unlimited supply of it. People will have to work long and hard so that this man can get his check.
This is also not earned income, so it’s not taxed as such. It’s mostly tax free. Also, he can work now as well. The guy should be pretty well off if he can stay out of trouble and be responsible.
ritaa
March 20th, 2009
6:26 pm
my brother deserved more than they are giving him, spending all those years in prison was very painful to him , i listened to him often , i cried with him too, i pray with him and tryed to tell him god will make a way. so all of you who think he don’t deserve that money wrong .
Lawyer14
March 20th, 2009
7:28 pm
it is unfortunate that juries, prosecutors, police, etc. get it wrong and situations like this occur. however, that is the result in an imperfect world. sometimes the prosecutors actually do believe they got it right and other times they don’t care. if justice requires that he is compensated then what does justice require when the jury gets it wrong by acquitting someone who is actually guilty??? if a person is acquitted and then confesses the next day, in most cases we can’t retry him/her so does the victim get $700K??? unless “justice” serves both sides of the situation, then i say no one gets paid.
lawstudent
March 20th, 2009
8:00 pm
I am currently a law student who recently heard a man speak that was freed by the innocence project. What most people don’t know is that when a convicted felon is released from prison he is given a bus fair, help with finding a job, and possibly even housing. Whereas, people that have spent many years in jail for a crime they have no committed only get released and are basically told to go away; they get no money, bo bus fair, and no help. It is about time that GA recognizes that there is a porblem with the system as it stands today. Though this man may only get 35k a year, he will at least have soe type of repayment and ackowledgement that the state made a mistake.
Rick
March 20th, 2009
8:05 pm
I find it funny that some people have tried to imply that blacks are treated differently than whites in this country. This is not true, we have a bro for prez, I never want to hear about racism again. It does not exist.
AJ
March 20th, 2009
8:07 pm
Everyone is always looking for a handout! My tax money just went to a bunch of Execs at AIG and now some of it is going to go to this guy!! This country is in a lot of trouble and if the morons in DC don’t wake up where going to be alot worse off then we are now! God help Us.
Real LAWYER
March 21st, 2009
12:06 am
Lawyer14, your just the kind of lawyer he had, one who doesn’t know one issue from another and couldn’t argue your way out of bed. His wrongful conviction has nothing to do with compensation for victims or people convicted one day and confessing the next. If you spent any time in a “real court” you would know that prosecutors only care about convictions (winning). You have to be a “fool” and a disgrace to the legal profession to attempt to argue such “stupidness”, as if one thing has to do with the other. That’s probably the same type of “ignorant logic” that got him convicted.
Real LAWYER
March 21st, 2009
12:11 am
Everybody else, do you realy think that a person who spends the best years of their life in prison for something you didn’t do, shouldn’t get anything? OR THAT $700,000 IS TOO MUCH? PLEASEEE
Ms. St. John
March 21st, 2009
12:43 am
I think he should be given $1 million (tax free) as well as a State job working in Corrections/Pardons and Paroles or the Fulton County Jail/
Get Real
March 21st, 2009
12:51 am
All the people saying he shouldn’t get anything, what would you want if you were in his shoes?
KJ
March 21st, 2009
12:55 am
OK, everyone who would be willing to spend 20 years in federal-pound-me-in-the-azz prison in exchange for 700K, raise your hand.
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Tanya
March 25th, 2009
3:38 pm
I understand that he was proven not guilty by the DNA test. What I don’t understand is why the state has to pay for him being wrongly convicted when the test that proved it wasn’t him wasn’t available. Wasn’t he convicted using the evidence that was available? If DNA testing wasn’t avaialable why is it Georgia fault?
online
December 30th, 2009
4:54 am
Ya, mungkin karena itu