Crime

Former Texas Prisoners Offer Their Support to State Legislators Trying to Help Them Out

By Robert Wilonsky Tue., Mar. 31 2009 at 5:20 PM
Categories: Crime, News
Anchia.jpg
State Rep. Rafael Anchia
Today down in Austin, more than a dozen former Texas prisoners freed using DNA testing made their case in front of Texas legislators concerning myriad related bills sitting before lawmakers, among them fixing the way victims ID would-be offenders using photos of a live lineup, about which we wrote at great length in this August 2007 cover story. Dallas State Rep. Rafael Anchia has also introduced legislation -- H.B. 1736, also being discussed by the House and Senate this week -- that would up the compensation given to the wrongly convicted, from $50,000 to $80,000. And, as the Associated Press notes from the state Capitol today, Anchia's bill would also "give them the same health insurance given to state employees, a crucial benefit for those who often emerge from prison with severe health problems but no way to get medical coverage."
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