New Amendment to the Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act

Thanks to the “no double jeopardy” rule, an acquittal is forever, but if you get convicted of a crime, you still have a chance to make things right. If you acknowledge that you committed the crime, then the best thing to do is to get through your sentence as quickly as possible and then set about restoring your voting rights and, if possible, getting the record of your conviction expunged. If you are innocent, or if the state was only able to prosecute you by violating your Constitutional rights, then you can and should appeal your conviction. Overturning your conviction on appeal or otherwise getting exonerated feels like winning the grand prize, but it doesn’t replace the employment income and social connections you missed out on during the time you were incarcerated. Florida’s Victims on Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act and its new amendment enable wrongfully convicted defendants to seek financial compensation from the state for the economic injury they suffered due to their incarceration. If you have been wrongfully convicted of drug crimes in Florida, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.

SB 130 Removes Obstacles From the Path of Wrongfully Convicted People Seeking Compensation

Florida’s Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act was one of the first laws of its kind, establishing a system for wrongfully convicted defendants to receive compensation from the state for the financial losses arising from their wrongful conviction. The law grants exonerated defendants $50,000 for each year they spent in prison. Since this law went into effect in 2008, only five people have received compensation through it. Other exonerated people have prevailed in civil lawsuits against the jurisdictions that wrongfully convicted them; one of these is Robert DuBoise, who spent 37 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

The Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act, in its original form, had many eligibility exceptions that made it almost impossible for exonerees to get compensation. For example, DuBoise was ineligible because he pleaded guilty to a felony when he was 17 and received a sentence of probation. SB 130, which became law in July 2025, removes some of these exceptions. If you have a criminal conviction other than your wrongful conviction, you can probably still get compensation for your wrongful conviction. If all your prior convictions are for nonviolent crimes, or if you have one prior conviction for a violent crime, you are now eligible for compensation. Likewise, the old version of the law gave defendants only 90 days from the date of their exoneration to file a claim for compensation. Under the new version of the law, the deadline is two years from the date of your exoneration.

Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases

A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you appeal your conviction and seek compensation if you have been wrongfully convicted of a drug-related offense and have served time in prison.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Sources:

flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/130

innocenceproject.org/news/floridas-restrictive-compensation-law-fails-the-innocent-people-for-whom-it-was-intended/