Recently, former Texas inmates have filed lawsuits because DNA testing has exonerated their criminal charges. These men were wrongfully accused of their said crimes and should be rightfully compensated for their many years in prison. One inmate in particular was supposed to receive 80,000 dollars a year for every year he spent in the state penitentiary. The Texas judiciary would only grant him 20,000 dollars a year for his 14 year sentence due to the loopholes in the judicial system. Also, he would only get 3 months worth of the total sum due to him.
How can they get away with making a faulty conviction and not pay the consequences? Since he was on parole prior to the criminal conviction, Texas law prevents him from benefiting because of his concurrent sentence. The state attorney’s office states that, “parole is a continuation of a criminal sentence served outside of prison” (Austin American Statesman). It has always been my impression that parole was a separate institution away from prison, not an extension of it. I don’t think that is ethically right of them to marginalize the impact they have had on the inmate’s lives. If this is how they treat citizens that have had their lives taken from them, I don’t want to live in Texas anymore. I think the Texas Judiciary needs to take into consideration the level of the crimes that were committed prior to sentencing before making the decision to cut compensation. By gauging past crimes, it will help differentiate the people that committed small crimes from the people that have committed large or the same crime.
No comments:
Post a Comment