Florida has made it easier for wrongfully incarcerated people to get compensated

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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill aimed at making it easier for people who have been wrongfully incarcerated to receive compensation from the state. Lawmakers passed a compensation program in 2008, but the law included what is known as a “clean hands” provision that made exonerees who had been previously convicted of certain felonies ineligible for the compensation. The bill signed Friday (SB 130) does away with the clean-hands provision and eases the timeline for exonerees to seek compensation from the state, an issue that also has posed a barrier for some people seeking payments. Lawmakers this spring unanimously passed the bill after years of attempts to address the issue.