Compensation for wrongful incarceration; compensation for certain intentional acts.
HB1914 amends Virginia’s wrongful incarceration compensation law to increase and index the base payment for exonerees and to expand the categories of relief available. The bill sets compensation at $55,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, adjusted annually for inflation using the Chained Consumer Price Index, and provides an additional minimum payment of $30,000 per year for time served after a death sentence or while required to register as a sex offender after release. It also preserves lump-sum payment procedures and authorizes reimbursement of unreimbursed fines, fees, court costs, restitution, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
The bill further adds transition and reentry support for people found to have been wrongfully incarcerated. Eligible individuals receive a $15,000 transition assistance grant from the Criminal Fund, subject to deduction from the overall award, and may receive up to $10,000 in tuition reimbursement for career or technical training through the Virginia Community College System. The measure also allows nonmonetary relief such as counseling, housing assistance, employment assistance, health care, dental care, and financial literacy support, and it clarifies that an eligible person’s estate may pursue compensation if the person is deceased.
HB1914 changes Virginia Code §§ 8.01-195.11 and 8.01-195.13 by increasing compensation amounts, adding inflation indexing, and expanding the scope of recoverable damages and support services for wrongfully incarcerated people. It also creates a new mechanism for additional compensation when wrongful convictions involved intentional fabrication of evidence and intentional suppression of exculpatory evidence, potentially up to the amount of the base wrongful-incarceration award. In those cases, the bill conditions payment on a release and waiver and on a local or other employing governmental entity agreeing to compensate the person, and it authorizes the Governor to withhold state funds from a noncomplying entity.
The bill appears to have enjoyed strong bipartisan support throughout the legislative process, with overwhelmingly favorable committee and floor votes in both chambers and final agreement through a conference report. The repeated passage of substitutes suggests the core policy was broadly accepted, while details were refined during negotiations. Overall, the sentiment reflected support for expanding and modernizing compensation for exonerees and for providing additional remedies in cases involving official misconduct.
The main points of contention likely centered on the scope and cost of the compensation package, especially the higher per-year award, inflation adjustments, additional payments for death-row and registry-related incarceration, and the new intentional-misconduct compensation provisions. The substitute process and the House’s initial rejection of the Senate substitute indicate that lawmakers negotiated over the precise structure and conditions of payment. The intentional-acts section also raises accountability and implementation issues, including proof standards, waiver requirements, and the leverage of withholding state funds from a local or other governmental entity that fails to pay.