Recent Events in the News

What Are 18 Years Worth?

Posted on Feb 14, 2007

What Are 18 Years Worth? Tillman Says He'd Accept $5 Million February 13, 2007 By COLIN POITRAS, Courant Staff Writer The governor offered $500,000, but James Calvin Tillman, who was imprisoned for 18 years of a 45-year sentence for a rape he did not commit, is asking for $5 million. "I would just like some compensation on my behalf," Tillman said Monday. "I was facing 45 years. I was accused of kidnapping, but I was kidnapped also. What is that worth?" While the East Hartford man appreciates the governor's heartfelt response to his plight, he must request what he feels he is owed, said Gerard A. Smyth, Connecticut's former chief public defender who is representing Tillman pro bono. The governor made her offer to Tillman during a personal apology in her state budget address last week. Smyth called the $5 million "reasonable under the circumstances given the potential for litigation and the injuries James has suffered. "It's a substantial amount of money, but he lost the prime years of his life, and we think it's fair to him and to the state." Smyth said the $500,000 tax-free payment Rell offered as reparation last week amounts to about $27,700 for each year Tillman was imprisoned. The prevailing rule of thumb in such settlements is about $1 million for each year of incarceration, he said. Rell never indicated her offer was a settlement. She included the $500,000 as part of her proposed $35.8 billion two-year budget plan for the 2008-09 fiscal years. She said the money could be used to help the 45-year-old Tillman "re-establish his life." The offer was made with no strings attached, and Tillman can accept the money without waiving any claims for other damages, a spokesman for the governor's office later said. Tillman was sentenced to prison in 1989 after being convicted by a jury that relied largely on the victim's identification of him as the man who attacked her in Hartford in 1988. He was exonerated last year after sophisticated DNA tests showed he could not have been the man who left semen stains in the victim's underwear. Tillman is still debating whether he will accept Rell's offer, which requires the legislature's approval before the money can be released. Contacted at home Monday, he said he could use the funds, but is discussing his options with Smyth before making any final decisions. "It would help me a lot, I might need it," Tillman said of Rell's $500,000 check. He praised the governor for offering the personal apology and for treating him and his mother, Catherine Martin, with respect and dignity. But he also said he had to think about his future and what he has been through. Smyth said any settlement with the state would resolve all the legal issues surrounding Tillman's case, including: a related federal civil rights claim, a separate wrongful arrest action against the city of Hartford and a claim against the state for the way his case was handled and prosecuted. Smyth said workers with the state health department laboratory failed to test DNA in the crotch of the victim's pantyhose, which, when tested later, matched stains found elsewhere on the victim's dress and exonerated Tillman as the assailant. Tillman also suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing basketball in state prison in 2003 and had significant complications for a year following surgery that could be grounds for a medical malpractice claim, Smyth said. Tillman has hired the late Johnny Cochran's powerful New York law firm, Cochran, Neufeld & Scheck, to represent him in the civil rights case. The legislature's judiciary committee is expected to present a bill that would possibly increase Tillman's compensation. Scheduled to meet Wednesday at the Capitol, the committee is also expected to change the way the state settles such disputes. Committee Co-chairman Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, said committee members are still discussing language to incorporate into the bill. "Obviously, I don't think anyone disputes the fact that Mr. Tillman is entitled to compensation from the state because of what happened to him," Lawlor said. But Lawlor said he wants to ensure that any legislation proposed addresses all the issues in Tillman's case, including any medical malpractice or negligence claims in addition to his wrongful-conviction case. Lawlor said he and other lawmakers are also considering adopting some kind of formula to resolve these kinds of cases should they arise in the future. The details of this are still being discussed, he said. Twenty-one states and the federal government now have laws dictating compensation rates to people proved to be wrongly convicted of a crime, according to the Innocence Project, a national nonprofit group dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through modern DNA analysis. Tillman is the first person exonerated as a result of efforts by Connecticut's Innocence Project. The terms of compensation vary wildly. In California, the terms can be $100 a day. Tennessee recently passed a law that sets a $1 million cap. New York has no limit on awards. Officials in Louisville, Ky., last week agreed to pay William Gregory $3.9 million for the seven years he spent behind bars after being wrongly convicted of rape. Authorities in Clinton Township in Michigan two years ago agreed to pay Kenneth Wyniemko $1.8 million plus $6,409 a month after he spent about nine years incarcerated for a 1994 rape he did not commit. Legislators in Tallahassee, Fla., recently agreed to pay Wilton Dedge $2 million for the 22 years he spent in jail after being wrongly convicted of rape. In the New England states, according to the Innocence Project, Maine pays $300,000 if a request for compensation is made within two years of a person being pardoned of a crime. New Hampshire pays up to $20,000 if a person is found innocent by the state's Board of Claims. Vermont has no formula on record. Massachusetts pays a maximum of $500,000 and provides medical and counseling services, college tuition money and an offer to expunge their criminal record. In New Jersey, a person is eligible for twice their income prior to incarceration or $20,000 per year of imprisonment, whichever is greater. According to the Innocence Project, 194 people in the U.S. have been cleared of crimes post-conviction through updated DNA analysis. Of those, 112 were African American, 50 Caucasian and 19 Latino. More than 75 percent of those cases involved eyewitness misidentification.