As the last act of its legislative session, the Florida Senate passed a bill allowing the state to compensate James Richardson, who had been wrongfully sentenced to death and incarcerated for 21 years. In 1967, Richardson, who is black, was convicted and sentenced to death by an all-white jury for the murder of his seven children. Many years later, a former babysitter confessed to the crime, prompting an investigation that revealed that witnesses had been beaten to convince them to falsely testify against Richardson. In 1989, Richardson’s conviction was thrown out and he was released. Richardson, now a frail old man, had not been able to receive compensation for this injustice because the evidence from his case had been lost or destroyed. Now he will be able to apply for compensation based on the special prosecutor’s investigation and the order to release him from prison. Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a sponsor of the bill, said “This will allow him to have an opportunity to revisit some dreams that were deferred early in his very young life.” Robert Barrar, an attorney who has represented Richardson, said, “The Legislature did the right thing. To right an injustice for all those years that were taken away from him.”

(I. Cummings, “Richardson compensation bill passes,” Herald-Tribune, May 2, 2014). See Innocence and Recent Legislation.

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