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Law that allows payment to wrongfully convicted could change

Florida Capitol/Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Florida Capitol/Photo: Wikimedia Commons

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A law that allows compensation to people wrongfully convicted and imprisoned in Florida could be revised to allow some felons to be eligible.

The bill approved by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday would change the so-called "clean hands" requirement of the compensation law.

Florida now allows compensation up to $50,000 a year for people who are proven innocent of a crime for which they were imprisoned. But anyone who committed a felony before or after the wrongful incarceration isn't eligible.

The bill sponsored by Democratic Rep. Bobby DuBose would make the restriction only apply to violent felons, meaning people convicted of non-violent felonies like drug possession or theft could be eligible.

Only four people have been compensated under the law since it was enacted nine years go