Opinion ID: 2641040
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶1 The State appeals from the district court’s order posthumously declaring Jed Gressman factually innocent of the crimes he was convicted of in 1993 and awarding his widow financial assistance payments under the Post-Conviction Remedies Act (PCRA). The State argues the district court erred by (1) finding that Mr. Gressman’s claims under the PCRA survived his death; (2) determining Mr. Gressman to be factually innocent as a matter of law based on the prior vacatur of his conviction; and (3) awarding prejudgment interest on the financial assistance payments. ¶2 We find that Mr. Gressman’s PCRA claims did not abate upon his death and that the district court properly substituted his widow as the plaintiff in this suit. The district court erred, however, when it found that the vacatur of Mr. Gressman’s conviction conclusively GRESSMAN v. STATE Opinion of the Court established his factual innocence, as defined by the PCRA. Finally, we hold that the version of the PCRA relevant to this case does not permit the district court to award prejudgment interest. We therefore reverse for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.