Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-08-22

No 621, AL Published May g. 1913.
CHAPTER 1S9, LAWS OF 1919.
AN ACT-To create section S2o3a of
the statutes, relating to compensa--
ton for imprisonment of innocent
persons, and making an appropria-
ton. ,
The people of the, State OF Wisconsin.
represented in Senate and Assembly,
do enact as follows:
Section 1. There is added to the
statutes q new section to read: Sec
ton 3203a. l. The governor and the
are hereby constituted a board to be
known as the board for the relief of
persons who have served terms of
imprisonment upon conviction for an
offense or crime against the state OF
which they are innocent. The secre-
tary of the state board of control shall
be the secretary of the board hereby
created.
e. Any person who hereafter shall
have served a term of Imprisonment
under conviction for a crime or Offense
against the state, of which crime or
offense he claims to have been inno-
cent, or any person who shall have
been pardoned by the governor on the
ground of innocence and whose term
of imprisonment shall thereby have
been decreased, may, petition the
board constituted in this section for
the allowance from the state of COM
pensation for such wrongful imprison-
ment.
3. Such board shall hold hearing on
such petition and shall cause evidence
of the character hereinafter mentioned
to be produced before it, After hear
ing the evidence, the board shall make
"a finding that it is clear beyond a
was innocent of the crime or offense
for which he suffered Imprisonment,
or that it is not clear beyond rea-
sonable doubt that the petitioner was
innocent of the crime or offense for
hearing before the board the record
of the trial in which the conviction
was had may be presented to the board
for the purpose of enabling the board
to understand the situation, but the
finding of the board shall be based
only on such evidence of circumstances
as have been discovered or have arisen
since the trial and conviction of the
petitioner Of the crime or offense for
which he claims to have suffered
wrongful imprisonment:
A.. If the board shall find that the
petitioner was innocent of the crime
or offense for which he has suffered
imprisonment and that he did not by
his act or failure to act contribute to
bring about the conviction and i'm
prisonment for which he seeks COM
pensation, the board shall proceed to
find the amount when will compensate
the petitioner for his wrongful i'm
prisonment. Such board may award a
compensation to the petitioner so
found innocent of not to exceed five
thousand dollars in any case, and at
a rate of compensation not greater
than fifteen hundred dollars per year
for the Imprisonment so unjustly Suf-
fered. If the board shall find that the
amount they may be able to award
will not be an adequate compensation
to the petitioner they shall report an
amount to the legislature which they
shall deem to be adequate and shall
recommend the appropriation by the
legislature to the petitioner of the
amount in excess of the amount they
may have awarded.
5. The board shall keep a full and
complete record of it's proceedings in
each case and of all the evidence pro-
duced before them. The findings and
the award of the board shall be sub
ject to review on an appeal, by the
circuit court for Dane county, but the
appeal shall be subject to the same
limitations as apply to the findings and
awards made by the board.
6. The award shall be certified by
the board to the secretary of state,
and upon being audited by him shall
be paid out of the state treasury.
Z. There is appropriated out of any
money in the state treasury not other
wise appropriated a sum sufficient to
carry out the provisions of this sec
ton.
Section 2 This act shall take effect
| and be in force from and after it's
passage and publicat ton.
| Approved May 8, 1913. Copy Law