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Arizona will offer payment for people who were wrongly convicted, imprisoned
Mary Jo Pitzl, Arizona RepublicOriginally published August 25, 2025 A new Arizona law that will compensate people who have been wrongly imprisoned traces back to one lawmaker’s own prison experience. For more than a decade, first-term Rep. Khyl Powell has been involved with prison ministry work, including three years as
The Price of Innocence
Arizona is finally bringing justice to the wrongfully convicted, on a trial basis. Nicole Ludden, Arizona AgendaOriginally published July 28th, 2025 Next year, Arizona will start the process of compensating people who’ve been incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit. We told you about the push for an erroneous convictions law
Arizona Enacts Law to Provide Justice for the Wrongfully Convicted
New Law Sponsored by State Rep. Khyl Powell Grants Restitution and Record Expungement to Exonerated Arizonans NEWS RELEASE Monday, June 30, 2025FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Arizona House of Representatives Representative Khyl Powell (R-14) STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Legislation sponsored by State Representative Khyl Powell to compensate Arizonans who were proven
Arizona Passes a New Law, Financial Compensation for Those Who Have Been Wrongly Convicted
STATEMENT FROM THE ARIZONA JUSTICE PROJECT July 2, 2025 Media contact: Katie Puzauskas602-844-1220katie.puzauskas@azjusticeproject.org On Friday, June 27, 2025, Governor Katie Hobbs signed SB1500 into law, making Arizona the 41st state to provide a legal avenue to seek financial compensation for years lost due to a wrongful conviction. Those who meet
Arizona to compensate wrongfully convicted under new law
Haley Williams, KPNX-TV PhoenixOriginally published June 30th, 2025 Those in Arizona who have been wrongfully convicted will be eligible for compensation under a new Arizona law. Governor Katie Hobbs signed Senate Bill 1500 on Friday, establishing a pilot program for individuals who have been incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. Under
SB1500: Restoring dignity and lives after wrongful conviction
Khyl Powell, Guest Commentary, AZCapitolTimesOriginally published February 21, 2025 For 14 years, I have volunteered as a chaplain ministering to felons who have been incarcerated by the Arizona Justice System helping them to rebuild their lives. I’ve spent thousands of hours sitting across from men whose lives have been broken
Videos
Articles
Perry v. New Hampshire and Eyewitness Testimony
In a case that was recently argued before the Supreme Court, questions have arisen regarding the reliability of eyewitness testimony. In Perry v. New Hampshire, the State Supreme Court ruled that a trial judge “cannot exclude witness identification based on suggestive circumstances, unless there was improper police manipulation of the
Wrong Convictions Spur Florida to Rethink Using Jail Informants
After the release of a man that was wrongfully convicted of a murder, Florida’s Innocence Commission is rethinking the use of jailhouse informants in their felony cases. The man, Chad Heins, spent 11 years in prison for a murder he was innocent of — his conviction was almost solely based on the
Injustice in Murder Cases
According to a new study recently published by the RAND Corporation, just providing an indigent defendant a lawyer is not enough to “obtain justice”. The issues that directly affect the outcome include: whether the lawyer assigned is screened for quality, whether they are trained to handle the client’s type of case,
Prosecutorial Misconduct and a DNA Exoneration in Texas
After spending 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Michael Morton was exonerated last month in Texas through the use of DNA evidence. In their attempt to prove Mr. Morton’s innocence, attorneys found evidence in court records that the prosecutor from his original trial had withheld critical evidence
The Arizona Justice Project is Appearing Before the U.S. Supreme Court
Bob Bartels, faculty advisor for the Arizona Justice Project, takes the important issue of post-conviction review to the United States Supreme Court. – Question Presented: Whether a defendant in a state criminal case – who cannot raise an ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim (IATC) on direct appeal but must
Understanding the Causes of Wrongful Convictions
Below, you’ll find an interactive resource courtesy of the Innocence Project in New York about the causes of wrongful convictions: The Innocence Project has also released a chart on the DNA exonerations that have occurred throughout the nation in which convictions were obtained involving unvalidated or improper forensic testing. Read more about 166