Justice For Wrongly Convicted: A Champion Of Wrongful Conviction Reform

First seen in Tampa Bay Times:

Sandy D'Alemberte was a highly accomplished individual who made significant contributions to the field of law and public service. As the late attorney and former Florida State University President, he championed a law that provided compensation to people wrongly convicted of crimes, with the stipulation that they had not previously committed felonies.

His efforts led to the passage of a law in 2008, which has been instrumental in helping exonerees receive financial compensation for their wrongful convictions. DuBoise, a man who maintained his innocence throughout his decades-long ordeal, was an example of the impact of D'Alemberte's work. After spending years trying to secure compensation, DuBoise was finally awarded $1. 85 million in 2023, thanks to the efforts of his pro bono attorneys, lobbyists, "and lawmakers," "including Rep." Traci Koster... who has since become a vocal advocate for changing the law to eliminate the "clean hands" provision.

Reference: See here

The Florida Legislature in 2008 passed a law, championed by the late attorney and Florida State University President Sandy D'Alemberte, that said the state should compensate people who were wrongly convicted of crimes — so long as they hadn't previously committed felonies. Under the law, exonerees found innocent by the court that convicted them are eligible for $50,000 for each year they served in prison.
The compensation is capped at $2 million. DuBoise, who maintained his innocence throughout his decadeslong ordeal, wasn't eligible for compensation because, as a 17-year-old, he had been convicted of three unrelated felonies. He and his pro bono attorneys and lobbyists spent three years trying to convince Florida lawmakers to approve a special type of legislation known as a "claim" bill to provide $1.85 million to DuBoise.
Lawmakers signed off on it in 2023.