# A man found innocent of rape has to stay in prison 4 more months? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533 "2002-11-19T15:43:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/1 "2002-11-19T15:43:24Z")
\*\* [From this news story - Associated Press](http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/626322p-4803764c.html%5B/url)\*\* > [@](#): > > \*\* DNA evidence clears man imprisoned for rape \*\* > BALTIMORE (November 19, 2002 6:20 a.m. EST)… > > …Webster’s lawyers said he wasn’t entitled to compensation from the state for his time in prison, and he has no family, friends, job or home. _ **He had been scheduled for release in February** _. Why on earth must this man stay in prison for one more day, let alone 4 more months, what’s the deal, If he’s innocent he shouldn’t be in prison AT ALL. Can someone explain to me the nuts and bolts of why it would take so long to process a person out of prison. Thanx, Janx :eek: ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/2 "2002-11-19T15:51:33Z")
I can’t get your link, but you appeart to have misunderstood the article. From [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/11/07/DNA.freed.ap/) > [@](#): > > Even before Thursday’s ruling, Webster had been set for release in February. > [@](#): > > The judge overturned Webster’s conviction and granted him a new trial, but prosecutors said they would not pursue the case. > > “We didn’t have this technology 20 years ago,” said John Cox, an assistant state’s attorney. “Our intention has always been to seek justice, and once this came to our attention, we moved as fast as we could.” Essentially, he was to be released in February because his sentence was up - the DNA got him out earlier. The real rant here is that he can’t get compensation. I believe this is the case because nobody is “responsible” for the incorrect jury verdict. AFAIK, many states have laws that give some compensation, but not nearly enough. A true tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/3 "2002-11-19T16:12:31Z")
What IzzyR said. “He had been scheduled for release in February.” Not **has** but **had**. ---
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/4 "2002-11-19T16:32:28Z")
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, OK I get it now, Duuuh! :smack: [Little old lady voice] Never mind [/voice] BTW Nando times (free news wire but you have to sign up), says this about compensating this poor guy. \*\*from the same article: \*\* > [@](#): > > Two Baltimore-area state senators have pledged that if neither the governor nor the governor-elect takes steps to compensate him, they will push for a bill that pays him for his time behind bars. Thought you might like to know. Thanx, Janx ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/5 "2002-11-19T21:14:45Z")
They should not only be paying him, but setting him up for life. It was taken from him wrongly, and now they’re just going to send him out into the world without a prayer? So typical. ---
**Author:** ![Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smashed_Ice_Cream)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/6 "2002-11-19T22:47:10Z")
Slight hijack - What is the standard protocol (in the US) for compensating wrongfully imprisonated people for lost time? I always had it in my head that it was pretty much nothing aside from “Oops, we’re sorry, have a nice rest of your life.”, based on the fact the imprisoned person was (most likely) tried and found guilty despite actual innocence. Could one sue the state for lost wages? Anything? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/7 "2002-11-19T23:17:17Z")
SIC, Ibelieve that compensation depends on the state & only a select number of them give it. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@MC\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_E)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/8 "2002-11-19T23:43:17Z")
As an aside, they just arrested someone and charged them with the rape he was in prision for. It seems that while the DNA evidence didn’t match him, it did match someone else in the database. IIRC, it was a person who was 16 at the time. Here’s a link to the story: [http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/crime/bal-md.rape19nov19,0,2399664.story?coll=bal-local-headlines](http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/crime/bal-md.rape19nov19,0,2399664.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines) MC$E ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/9 "2002-11-20T00:29:04Z")
That’s incredibly wrong. Not only this guy lost his freedom, his job and probably any chance to have an acceptable career in the future, more generally will probably have a totally fucked up life, but also he has been reviled and considered for years as the lowest life form for a crime he didn’t commit, had probably his face all over the papers, etc… These people should receive _enormous_ compensations. Here they’re are indemnized, but I always thought that these compensations(which are granted by a specific court) are without comparison with the wrong which has been done to them (I’ve no figure in mind, but say : you spend 8 years in jail? Here’s 100 000 . like 100 000 would make it for a wasted life and 8 years in cell being considered a rapist) and apparently totally inconsistent ( you spend one year in jail : 50 000 . You too spend one year in jail : 2 000 ). But no indmenization _at all_??? Like in : here’s a bus ticket and the adress of the nearest homeless shelter??? That fucking unbelievable. People shoudl be all up in arms to ask for a better treatment for guys like him. If someone can call himself a victim of society, it’s him! And actually, he has been _sacrified_ for the common well-being (and despised for that, contrarily to, say, a soldier). There have been people who, like we often see on this board, have stated how evil he was, and how they would like to castrate, torture and execute him. I can’t believe they let people like him go with a “sorry, that was a littlle misunderstanding”. How can the members of the judiciary (prosecutors, judges, etc… ) and also the press and general public not attract the attention of the legislators on such an issue? Especially since it’s not a nation wide issue, and that he would receive indemnizations in some states. That such a situation can be allowed to exist is beyond me… ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/10 "2002-11-20T00:54:54Z")
But that, fortunately, for me, is more of a GD kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-man-found-innocent-of-rape-has-to-stay-in-prison-4-more-months-why/137533/11 "2002-11-20T01:05:57Z")
Well, indeed, \*\* manhattan \*\* . I couldn’t help myself. And actually didn’t even paid attention to what forum I was posting in. Sorry.