What is Georgia's new wrongful conviction compensation law?
Georgia’s new wrongful conviction compensation law entitles people to $75,000 for each year they wrongfully spent behind bars, and $100,000 per year for time spent on death row. But receiving that money isn’t automatic. The law replaces Georgia’s old system, which required navigating the highly politicized world of the General Assembly and often led to wildly inconsistent awards, if they were granted at all. Two people who could be impacted by the law are Ashley Jordan and Albert Debelbot — a Columbus couple who spent 12 years in prison for the death of their newborn daughter before ultimately having their convictions overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court. Their story is at the center of the new season of the AJC’s true crime podcast, “Breakdown.” The AJC’s Tamar Hallerman explains how the law works and the questions that remain about its implementation. Credits: AJC | WTVM | Athens-Clarke County/YouTube | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | Georgia Senate/Vimeo | John Spink/AJC | Columbus Police Department | Georgia Department of Corrections | Mike Haskey, Darrell Roaden/Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | Ashley Debelbot/Facebook | Georgia Innocence Project
