At its final 2024 Law and Justice Interim Committee meeting Tuesday, Montana lawmakers advanced a draft bill (PD04)for the compensation of those who have been exonerated from wrongful conviction and incarceration in Montana, ahead of the 2025 legislative session.
This Committee sponsored bill draft is the result of more than five years of focused efforts by the legislature to provide a meaningful path for exonerees to seek compensation for the years of their lives that they were unjustly deprived of their liberty. The bill draft is an attempt to restore and improve upon a program for exoneree compensation in Montana which sunsetted in 2023.
The previous framework proved to be unsuccessful in providing compensation for wrongfully convicted Montanans, as it required exonerees to prove their innocence in a trial at an impossibly high standard that is out of line with the standard set at the federal level and in other states. A key component of the new draft is a provision which requires that an exoneree must only prove that their case was vacated or that they were found not guilty on retrial to be awarded compensation.
Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crow, (R) Billings, will carry the Committee sponsored bill in the 2025 Session. We will continue to advocate until innocent Montanans receive the financial justice they deserve to rebuild their lives.
Too Late for Some
While the new bill has the potential to provide a meaningful process for compensation of those wrongfully convicted in Montana, it will come too late for some.
In 2021, MTIP-freed client Cody Marble became the first person to file for exoneree compensation for his 14 years of wrongful incarceration under the now sunsetted Montana law. In addition to requiring that Cody once again prove his innocence through a trial, the statute forced him to waive his constitutional right to alternate remedies as part of the filing process.
The civil trial was a long and hard battle in which Cody had to once again relive the trauma of his wrongful incarceration in court. On May 21st, 2024, the state district court jury concluded that Cody had failed to prove his innocence, rejecting his attempt to receive compensation and effectively barring Cody from any form of remedy for the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned.
Like many others rebuilding their lives after wrongful conviction, Cody’s path forward has been anything but easy. Unfortunately, innocent Montanans like Cody do not currently receive any support from the state. Cody continues to shoulder long-term health effects from years of incarceration and poor medical care, making it difficult to find regular work and make ends meet.
MTIP has set up a personal GoFundMe fundraiser on Cody’s behalf, to help mitigate some of the financial burdens he is facing. With a goal to raise $750,000 – the amount Cody would have been eligible to receive under the new draft bill.
Your gift today of $100, $50, or even $25 will directly benefit Cody, to help him maintain housing, establish medical care, and secure basic life necessities. Together, we can make a significant difference in Cody’s life.
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