how much should a person recieve for being wrongfully imprisoned?

1. 60

   nightwork4posted 14 years ago

   how much should a person recieve for being wrongfully imprisoned?
   
   if they are imprisoned for years due to a mistake by the authorities or because of corruption, how much per year should they get or should they get anything?

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2. 59

   SpanStarposted 14 years ago

   I'm not really sure how much money the should get but it should be enough to take care of them for a very long time.  I actually saw a program where one man was set free after years and years of being wrongfully imprison in some small town and at the end of the program the sherif was mad that this innocence was set free because he said to reporter what if you did that with the other prisoners, we can't afford to pay these people so it was better to keep them in jail knowing they are innocence.

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3. 61

   shynslyposted 14 years ago

   In a "perfect world", this would never happen. Supposedly, the prosecution has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The U.S. judiciary system was intended to be set up with the mindset that it was better to let 100 guilty men go free than to imprison one innocent man.
   
   Unfortunately, it would seem the one thing we can all agree on is that this is far from a "perfect" world. That being the case, I don't know if anyone has the "right" answer, though I would suggest a good place to start might be that the original jury that convicted the innocent man should be called back in to decide what the cost of their mistake was.

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4. 71

   Iontachposted 14 years ago

   Depends on how long they are in there. Maybe 500,000 a year? lol. If I was wrongfully imprisoned I'd demand a heck of a lot of money.

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5. 81

   Wayne Brownposted 14 years ago

   I think financially, a figure should be calculated for the person's education level and skillset and then take the highest figure that the person could reasonably expect in terms of income in a given year.  Calculate that times the number of years then add 10% for each year as punitive damages for the wrongful conviction. WB

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6. 0

   Butch Newsposted 14 years ago

   Restitution is a burden upon all of society but a person should receive at least a million dollars.  You can't buy your life back.
   
   There are many innocent people in prisons and many more with unjust sentences.  The majority of prisoners in the U.S. are blacks.  There has to be something wrong there.

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7. 0

   fordieposted 14 years ago

   Looking at this from another angle ... I'd want the right to have an investigation into those people responsible for the prosecution. If there was any evidence of misconduct or negligence I'd be wanting those at fault to serve time as payback, not just cash for loss of my own freedom

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8. 71

   mcrawford76posted 14 years ago

   I agree with Wayne, I think it should depend on the persons potential to earn. If it's someone working at a fast food restaurant than 50k should suffice. But perhaps one could look at how much damage they have recieved due to their imprisonment i.e. loss of marriage, parental rights to children, etc. I think it should start out at a million just so the person has some new opportunities.

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9. 38

   123chri123posted 14 years ago

   The person should go for something reasonable that is commensurate to those months/years of travails.If it is Africa,the person should go for $10million dollars because the prisons here are hellfire.

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10. 59

    hasan82posted 14 years ago

    They should get the his/her salary for all the years he/she spend in prison on the basis maximum salary wages received by anyone in his/her field, plus a compensation for disturbing his/her and a family life should also be paid.

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11. 0

    Rafickposted 14 years ago

    Prison life isn't life. It is time in Hell. Any time that a person spends in jail because of a mistake is equal to the time deducted from a person's life. The value of that life has unlimited value. It is not related to anything (e.g his education or earnings) apart from that person's life, apart from the fact that his family would have suffered during his absence. Furthermore, the mark made by his stay in prison, his sufferings, his humiliation, can never be wiped out from his mind. They will haunt him for the rest of his life.
    
    No pecuniary compensation, whatever its amount, will ever be sufficient restitution.
    
    For these reasons, I think the highest possible compensation according to the laws of the country should be awarded.

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