SB176: SB176 "Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act"; establish

Georgia currently has no statutory system for compensating people who were wrongly convicted and later exonerated. This bill creates one. An exonerated person could petition the sentencing court to be declared eligible for compensation, with the prosecuting authority given a chance to agree or contest the claim. Courts would decide eligibility based on clear and convincing evidence that the person did not commit the crime. Once a court finds someone eligible, they could file a formal request (called a requisition) with the Department of Law, which would verify records with the Georgia Crime Information Center and FBI before certifying compensation. Eligible people could receive $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, tuition waivers for up to 120 hours at Georgia public colleges or technical schools, reimbursement of fines and attorney's fees, and automatic expungement of related criminal records. Total monetary compensation is capped at $1 million, and recipients must sign a waiver releasing the state from further claims. The law would take effect July 1, 2025.

• Creates a new legal process letting exonerated people petition a Georgia court to be declared eligible for state compensation for wrongful incarceration.
• Sets monetary compensation at $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, prorated for partial years, capped at a total of $1 million combined with fines, costs, and attorney's fees.
• Provides a waiver of tuition and fees for up to 120 hours at any University System of Georgia school or Technical College System of Georgia school for eligible exonerees.
• Requires automatic, fee-free expungement of an exonerated person's criminal record related to the wrongful conviction once compensation eligibility is certified.
• Disqualifies people from compensation if they had certain prior or subsequent felony convictions, including any serious violent felony, before or during the wrongful incarceration.
• Requires exonerated people to sign a waiver releasing the state, prosecutors, and courts from future legal claims before receiving compensation.

People who have been exonerated of crimes in Georgia after wrongful incarceration, the Department of Law, prosecuting authorities and sentencing courts that must respond to petitions, the Georgia Crime Information Center, the Department of Corrections, and public colleges and technical schools that would provide tuition waivers.

People who spent years wrongly imprisoned in Georgia would gain a defined path to financial compensation, college tuition help, and cleared criminal records, rather than having to rely solely on civil lawsuits. The bill also sets firm limits, including a $1 million cap and disqualifying prior criminal history, that shape who actually qualifies and how much they can receive.

• Code Section 17-22-3 lets an exonerated person petition the sentencing court within 90 days of a final exonerating order (or by June 30, 2026 for earlier orders) to be declared eligible for compensation.
• Code Section 17-22-3 requires the prosecuting authority to respond within 30 days, either certifying eligibility or contesting it, triggering a hearing within 120 days if contested.
• Code Section 17-22-4 lists disqualifying conditions, including prior convictions for a serious violent felony or more than one other felony, before or during the wrongful incarceration.
• Code Section 17-22-5 requires eligible people to file a compensation requisition with the Department of Law within two years, including fingerprints, sentencing records, and proof of identity.
• Code Section 17-22-6 sets compensation at $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, tuition waivers for up to 120 hours of college instruction, and reimbursement of fines and attorney's fees, capped at $1 million total.
• Code Section 17-22-6 requires immediate, fee-free administrative expungement of the exonerated person's related criminal record.
• Code Section 17-22-5 requires exonerated people to sign a release waiving future claims against the state before compensation is approved.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-13Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)

• wrongful conviction compensation
• criminal justice
• exoneration
• state compensation programs
• criminal record expungement