Nov. 10, 2025 – The practice of law is a system in which those involved do their best with the information provided. Unfortunately, because this is an imperfect system, innocent people can be charged with, and sometimes convicted of, a crime they never committed.

To help correct these wrongs, organizations across the country pursue justice on behalf of those who were wrongfully convicted. In Wisconsin, the UW Law School’s Wisconsin Innocence Project does just that – seeking to exonerate the innocent. Law students, working in consultation with professors, have secured the release of more than 30 wrongfully convicted persons throughout the years since its inception, and they regularly review over 100 claims of innocence annually.

However, being exonerated of a crime is just the beginning. Upon release, sometimes after decades of wrongful imprisonment, exonerees are left with little to no resources to rely on as they re-enter society. Over a century ago, Wisconsin became the first state to pass laws to compensate individuals who were wrongly convicted, but those laws have not been updated in decades. Now Wisconsin’s limits on compensation are the lowest of any such statute in the nation.

Sen. Van Wanggaard (R - Racine) and Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R - Oak Creek) are aiming to ensure better justice for exonerees with the recent introduction of Senate Bill 577 / Assembly Bill 583. The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors supports their effort to compensate those wrongfully convicted for the time and freedom they lost.

This bill’s most notable change is to increase the annual and lifetime caps for compensation that exonerees can receive, from $5,000 per year and $25,000 per lifetime, to $50,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment with a $1 million cap. In addition, exonerees could be eligible for health insurance for each year imprisoned, with a five-year maximum. Exonerees may also seek transition assistance from the Department of Corrections, and request that records related to the case be sealed. The bill would also create a timelier process for hearing and deciding compensation claims, while ensuring that undeserving individuals—such as those who committed related offenses or subsequent serious felonies—do not receive a windfall.

Even one innocent person going to prison is a tragedy. Wisconsin can help to perfect an imperfect justice system by passing SB 577 / AB 583 to ensure that exonerees are appropriately compensated for the injustice they have suffered and the years of freedom they have lost.

Please take a moment to contact your legislators and ask that they join the State Bar Board of Governors in supporting this legislation.

What You Can Do: State Bar of Wisconsin Advocacy Network

You can send a message of support for increasing exoneree compensation using the Advocacy Network. Use the "Send a Message to Wisconsin State Officials" option to craft a custom message expressing your support on this topic or any other. Messages sent through the network come from you and aren't automatically linked to the State Bar of Wisconsin. 

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