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Attorney General's office seeks clarifications to Nevada's wrongful conviction compensation law
Summary
AB 63 would revise the wrongful‑conviction compensation statutes to clarify reimbursement language, correct an apparent drafting error about benefit caps, define "incarcerated," and clarify standards for obtaining a certificate of innocence and monetary relief.
Attorney General Aaron Ford and senior deputy Jamie Stills presented Assembly Bill 63 to the Assembly Judiciary Committee as a set of technical clarifications to Nevada's wrongful conviction compensation statutes, which were enacted in 2019 and are codified at NRS 41.9 through 41.97.
Ford said the statutes are intended to "provide monetary support for persons recently released from prison or parole to permit them to begin rebuilding their lives and to reenter society," and that AB 63 seeks to align statutory language with legislative intent and current practice.
Jamie Stills and Heather Proctor of the AG's office explained the key changes. Section 2 replaces the word "payment" with "reimbursement" in NRS 41.95 to reflect Board of Examiners practice of reimbursing claimants for actual expenses rather than paying third parties directly. The bill also corrects a clerical drafting error in a 2021 amendment by moving the catch‑all phrase "any other relief" under the $100,000 cap for benefits provided per calendar year.
AB 63's proposed amendment would also define the term "incarcerated" to mean a person who is in jail or prison, distinguishing it from the term "imprisoned," and thereby preserving the statute's original intent limiting eligibility to persons who are not currently confined and who are attempting to rebuild their lives in the community.
Stills told the committee the office has issued eight certificates of actual innocence to date and has five pending cases. She said case timelines are highly variable; some matters resolved within six months after documentation was submitted, while others have remained pending for years depending on the facts and statutory questions.
Committee members asked whether the change would exclude people on parole or probation; presenters said the definition of incarcerated excludes parole and probation and that the statute was designed to assist people once they are released back into society. Assemblymember Gray asked about posthumous or survivability issues for claims; AG staff said the statute's intent is to aid people attempting to rebuild life after release and that survivability for estates and posthumous exoneration were not resolved by the office and would require further research.
Witnesses from Advocates for the Inmates and the Innocent and other callers urged the committee to consider posthumous exonerations and compensation for decedents or families of wrongfully convicted people who died before relief was obtained.
The committee closed the hearing on AB 63 after questions and public comment; the AG's office offered to work with committee members on the proposed amendment. No formal vote was recorded in the hearing transcript.
