For decades, exonerees had to fight to have the chance at being compensated after being released for a crime they didn’t commit. Prior to the Act, the Board of Public Works exonerated a mere ten people in 2019.^[1] Of those who were exonerated, there was no set compensation requirement, or a time frame in which the money must be received.^[2] In theory, the Walter Lomax Act establishes a clear process for Maryland exonerees to receive compensation, as long as they prove their innocence.^[3]  An Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) will rule on the merits of the case and the Act will provide a formula to determine how much money a person should get.^[4] The Act also establishes a timeline for payments and allow for additional compensation in certain circumstances.^[5]

As long as prosecutors are unable to win a new conviction at a retrial, assuming they would want to re-try the case, any wrongfully convicted person is eligible for compensation under the Walter Lomax Act.^[6] The Act will allow exonerees to rebuild their lives and afford a chance after wrongfully being convicted. The Act also gives generous authority to the presiding Administrative Law Judge who can provide up to five years of health insurance, housing assistance, and help with education.^[7] However, granting ALJ’s such broad power in determining whether exonerees should receive compensation, could create an innate bias within the system based on the crimes exonerees had been wrongfully convicted for.

The Act is named after Walter Lomax, a man who spent fifty-one years in prison for a string of robberies that he did not commit. He has since been exonerated.^[8] Mr. Lomax was originally convicted in 1968 for the fatal shooting of a food market employee.^[9] In 2006, his sentence was commuted, but he was not compensated by the State until 2019, fifty-one years after being wrongfully convicted.^[10] Senator Kelly and Delegate Damais lead the movement in both Mr. Lomax’s case as well as millions of others.^[11]

However, the work has just begun. Although the Act provides a clear path to compensation for exonerees, it is up to the courts to implement the system. As of 2021, an estimated fifteen people who have not received compensation would qualify under the legislation, and there are many more to come.^[12]

Taylor Miller is a third-year student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and an Associate Editor for Law Forum. Ms. Miller received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Law and Society, as well as minors in Forensic Science and Legal Writing. Ms. Miller is a native-Baltimorean and is currently working at the criminal defense firm, Bates & Garcia. Upon graduation, Ms. Miller plans to continue working in the criminal defense field. 

[1] Maryland Exonerees and Advocates Applaud the Ratification of “The Walter Lomax Act”, Sept. 13, 2021,  Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (April 13, 2021) https://exonerate.org/maryland-exonerees-and-advocates-applaud-the-ratification-of-the-walter-lomax-act/.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Bryn Stole, Maryland Officials approve compensation for wrongly convicted Baltimore man. For others exonerated, law change will make claims easier, The Baltimore Sun (April 21, 2021 at 8:08 PM), https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-exoneree-compensation-20210422-imkyp667jnhvdaihptq3ua442q-story.html.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Daniele Selby, Maryland’s Recent Reforms Are a Win for Police Accountability and Exonerees Seeking Compensation: The Walter Lomax Act, named for an exoneree, improves Maryland’s law on compensation for wrongfully convicted people., The Innocence Project (April 15, 2021) https://innocenceproject.org/maryland-passes-laws-police-accountability-misconduct-compensation/.

[9] Pamela Wood, ‘A clearer path’: Maryland on track to set guidelines for compensating those wrongly convicted, The Baltimore Sun (March 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM), https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-ga-exoneree-compensation-20210308-a5koef2ienerrjfakvuiafmdrq-story.html.

[10] Id.

[11] See supra note 1.

[12] Id.