Kansas just made history! It became the 33rd state in the U.S. to pass a law compensating the wrongfully convicted.

By The Innocence Project:

Kansas just made history! It became the 33rd state in the U.S. to pass a law compensating the wrongfully convicted. This law is one of the strongest in the country—providing $65,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration and $25,000 for each year wrongfully served on parole, probation or the sex offender registry.

In addition to monetary compensation, the law provides social services like housing and tuition assistance, counseling, enrollment in the state health care system, and financial literacy training. The law also offers a certificate of innocence and expungement so we can officially clear our names and move on from wrongful conviction.

The law will be retroactive so we are eligible to get the resources we need to rebuild our lives. Now we can look to a future that is much brighter.

In addition to the 17 states that still need a compensation law, many existing laws need to be fixed to ensure that the innocent have a straightforward way to receive both fair monetary compensation, transitional services, and long-term services from the states that unjustly took their freedom.