Wilton Dedge's IOU

The state stole 22 years from Wilton Dedge. The House says the theft is worth $200,000, give or take. The Senate says it could be worth $5 million. Which seems right?

Florida, where more people on Death Row have been exonerated than in any other state, is trying to decide how to compensate the wrongfully convicted. On Tuesday, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee passed a bill that would provide up to $5 million. Chairman Dan Webster, R-Winter Garden, compared a wrongful conviction to the illegal taking of property by government, which happens to be the argument made by Mr. Dedge's lawyer who is lobbying the Legislature.

Mr. Dedge's case prompted the legislation. The Brevard County man was released last summer after DNA testing showed that he did not commit the rape that sent him to prison. He is seeking $5 million for lost freedom, lost wages and compensation to his parents, who financed his defense, and the lawyers who secured his freedom. The debate can get downright silly. The House would cap payment at $200,000 but add tuition and health care. The Senate would allow $5 million but deduct the cost of prison education and job training programs and require the person to negotiate with the attorney general's office. Those who had confessed would not be eligible.

The state may have a $2 billion windfall for the next budget year. In that new money is enough to start repaying Wilton Dedge and the future Wilton Dedges for what the state never truly can repay.