Bipartisan bill would make changes to Ohio's wrongful incarceration law

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A bipartisan bill at the statehouse would change what happens when someone is wrongfully convicted and locked up.

Supporters of House Bill 501 say it would expand who qualifies for compensation, including some juveniles and people held in county jails, and require the state to repay certain fees charged while someone was behind bars.

House Bill 501, introduced by Representatives Joshua Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) and Elgin Rogers (D-Toledo), updates Ohio’s wrongful-imprisonment compensation law.

It renames the law “wrongful incarceration” and expands who can qualify when a conviction—or juvenile adjudication—is thrown out or when someone is pardoned.

“There’s always the desire to make sure that families receive the justice that they deserve, and that those people who have been wrongfully imprisoned and incarcerated also receive justice,” said Rep. Elgin Rogers, D-Toledo. “We know that those people who are wrongfully incarcerated or imprisoned they spend nine years of their lives before they’re actually exonerated or receive some type of justice from the judicial system.”

The bill also expands the definition of where someone was held, not just state prison—but also county jails and Department of Youth Services facilities. It would open the door for some cases involving people adjudicated delinquent as juveniles.

“As it stands today Ohio law allows people who are wrongfully incarcerated, had their convictions overturned and had their charges dismissed to apply for compensation from the state of Ohio,” said Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania. “When the justice system gets it wrong we owe it to those individuals to try and make it right.”

Williams said some people can’t even apply under current law, including some who were convicted as juveniles and later cleared and some who were pardoned.

If someone is declared wrongfully incarcerated, they can sue the state in the Court of Claims.

Compensation can include fines and court costs, attorney fees, lost wages—plus about $40,000 a year, adjusted for inflation.

The process starts in the county where the case began—where a judge must first make the wrongful-incarceration determination. Then the claim goes to the Court of Claims—and the law allows a preliminary payment of half the annual amount shortly after that determination.

The bill also keeps limits. Including no compensation for time that overlaps with another valid sentence. If someone later wins a civil-rights settlement or judgment, the state can seek an offset or reimbursement.

“No amount of money can restore stolen years, no legislation can give someone back a childhood spent in detention, the missed moments with family or the trauma of incarceration for a crime they did not commit,” Rogers said. “But what we can do is acknowledge harm, remove unnecessary barriers and say through love that Ohio recognizes both justice and responsibility.”

The bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee. If it’s reported out, it could head to a House floor vote.