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Thomas McGowan

Thomas McGowan spent almost twenty three years in jail for a crime that DNA evidence has since proved he did not commit. Now a new law in Texas, where he was wrongfully imprisoned on rape and robbery charges, will be providing him with a financial bonus that may not make up for over two decades behind bars but will go a long way to ensuring that the rest of the fifty year olds life is a little more comfortable.

For his part he knows what he wants to do with some of the money he should be receiving in a month or so – buy a three bed room house with stainless steel appliances. After that he says he’ll probably leave the financial decisions up to his girlfriend.

He is not the only exonerated inmate that will be coming into money over the next few months. The state of Texas has the highest national rate of exonerated former prison inmates, and the new law will cover them all.

Under the new act exonerated inmates will receive a payment of $80,000 for every year they spent behind bars. The new compensation package also includes annuity payments that are worth about $40,000 annually to those who were wrongly convicted and qualify for the program.

For his part Thomas McGowan admits to being both nervous and excited about the money he will receive. He describes his time in jail as “hell” and “like slavery” but it seems he never expected to receive a payday as big as the one he is about to receive. “It’s something I never had, this amount of money. I didn’t have any money — period.” he told the press.

As well as financial benefits all of the exonerated in the state will have access to a myriad of social services, including financial counselors to help them manage their money properly and avoid being taken in by scammers and others who might seek to cash in on their newly found good fortune.

There are 38 known exonerates in Texas at this time, most of who were freed by the efforts of the Innocence Project, a New York based legal service that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions. According to them an alarming 21 men in Dallas County alone, including McGowan, have been freed on the basis of DNA evidence so far, although prosecutors do still intend to try and take one of the cases to a second trial.