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Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

Over the past several weeks I had the opportunity to go to Sacramento twice to attend meetings of the California Victim Compensation Board.

The first time, it was to be present with NCIP Exoneree George Solioutes as we expected him to be awarded compensation for the 16 years he spent wrongfully incarcerated for a fire which killed three people in a home he owned. The hearing officer had recommended payment in a 90-page decision.  After perfunctory presentations by George’s attorneys and the Attorney General’s office, the two Board members present unexpectedly – and arbitrarily - denied George’s award.

Last week, I attended the second day of a compensation hearing for NCIP exoneree Maurice Caldwell.  In order to receive compensation for the 20 years he spent in prison, Maurice faces the counter-intuitive challenge of proving he did not commit the murder for which his conviction was overturned and all charges dropped in 2011--so much for the presumption of innocence. On May 31, the room was filled with dozens of supporters and his counsel painstakingly laid out the significant evidence of innocence including confessions by the real perpetrator, a report from a crime scene investigator demonstrating that the only eyewitness who testified against Maurice could not have seen what she said she saw from her apartment. More than 130 concerned citizens and community leaders (including judges, elected officials, DAs and lawyers) submitted letters on Maurice’s behalf.  Yet, the Attorney General’s office aggressively fought against Maurice’s claim.  We wait now for a recommendation from the hearing officer and then consideration by the full Board, likely in September.

As a human rights attorney, I have observed trials all over the world, focused on protections to the presumption of innocence, due process and fair procedure.  The Compensation Board proceedings had none of these.  With no set rules of procedures, no standards of evidence and, fundamentally, no presumption of innocence, the process is an arbitrary one with inconsistent results. It clearly adds insult to injury for innocent people who have already lost so much to wrongful conviction.

In this quarter’s newsletter, you will read about Maurice’s case and the challenges of compensation in California.  You will also hear about the phenomenal legal work our team is doing on behalf of so many innocent men and women, moving their cases through the justice system as we try to bring them home. You will hear about our legislative efforts to impact policy, and perspectives from students impacted by their participation in NCIP’s law clinic.

We at NCIP continue to work daily to fix the criminal justice system: to free the innocent, to prevent wrongful convictions from occurring, and to help freed individuals rebuild their lives.  Our compensation system in California needs fixing. George will appeal the Board’s denial of his rightful compensation and Maurice will see this process through to the end.  Hopefully, the Board will do the right thing and we will be able to work with key legislators to fix the system. 

Thanks to those of you who have helped in this process.  There is still much work to be done. We will continue to reach out to you for your help, support and engagement. Together, we will, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, keep bending the arc towards justice.

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