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Committee backs bill to require notice and streamline compensation process for wrongfully convicted
Summary
The committee voted to pass SB 169 with amendments that add notice requirements when convictions are vacated or reversed and provide a mechanism for interim payments and other procedural changes; the Attorney General raised statutory and constitutional concerns, while defenders and innocence advocates urged expedited relief for exonerated people.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary voted to pass SB 169 with amendments designed to notify eligible persons when convictions are reversed or vacated and to clarify procedures for compensation claims under Hawaii’s wrongful-conviction law.
SB 169 would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOC) to provide written notice to certain persons regarding the ability to file a claim for redress under existing wrongful-conviction statutes. The committee’s amended recommendation replaces the phrase “actually innocent” with procedural language tied to judgments that have been reversed or vacated (or pardoned consistent with innocence) and adds directions for courts to make specific findings when vacating or reversing a conviction so that compensation procedures can proceed more promptly.
Deputy Attorney General Lee Ying Kwok testified that, as drafted, parts of the bill would conflict with existing constitutional and statutory requirements — citing Hawaii case law and statutory provisions including HRS section 661(b) (compensation procedures), HRS 662-11 and 662-13 (appropriations and evidentiary requirements), and article VII, section 5 of the Hawaii Constitution regarding appropriations. The AG’s office urged the committee to note those conflicts and recommended technical edits.
The Office of the Public Defender endorsed the bill’s intent and supported amendments that would permit expedited payments for qualifying petitioners who have a vacated conviction, arguing that notice and a limited, timely payment (sometimes described as a walking fund) are critical because wrongly convicted people are released without identification, housing or funds. The Hawaii Innocence Project and Community Alliance on Prisons likewise urged the committee to create more immediate relief, pointing to several local exonerations without compensation.
Committee amendments included (1) replacing “actually innocent” with the procedural criterion of reversal, vacatur or a pardon consistent with innocence; (2) requiring courts to make findings at the time of reversal or vacatur that align with the statutory criteria for compensation; (3) specifying DOC as the responsible agency to provide notice and to include filing deadlines and copies of relevant statutory sections and orders in the notice; and (4) clarifying an interim-payment mechanism (a monthly $5,000 advance for qualifying petitioners) subject to appropriation and other procedural safeguards discussed in committee.
In the hearing, advocates argued the bill would promote accountability and help people who have been wrongfully incarcerated rebuild their lives. The Attorney General’s office asked the legislature to consider the bill’s interaction with existing appropriation and evidentiary rules; the committee’s amendments attempt to reconcile those concerns by recasting the criteria and setting out notice and procedural steps for courts and DOC.
The committee recorded the recommendation to pass SB 169 with amendments and indicated the measure passed among members present.
