Alfredo Domenech and Jeffrey Deskovic on the Capitol steps on Oct. 1, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by Ian Karbal)
In 1987, Alfredo Domenech was accused of murder, and in 1988 he was sentenced to life in prison. He served 18 years of that sentence before his trial was reopened and the charges were dismissed.
“I still feel like it was yesterday, and every morning I wake up and feel like it’s the same day, like I never came from that moment,” Domenech said Tuesday on the steps of the Capitol in Harrisburg. “I’m still stuck in the past. We need compensation to start moving on.”
Domenech was at the Capitol along with a coalition of other exonerees and advocates — the It Could Happen to You coalition — asking lawmakers to pass a bill that would grant state compensation for the wrongfully convicted.
Pennsylvania is one of 13 states that does not have a program to compensate people who serve time in prison on wrongful convictions.
“Some of those folks lose decades of their lives behind prison bars, missing out on milestones and memories with their loved ones and friends, and losing out on meaningful work opportunities,” Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington) the only lawmaker at the press conference with Domenech. “Our time to act is right now.”
Though the exonerees received a private audience with House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia), they acknowledged it would be an uphill battle.
Bills that would create compensation for the wrongfully convicted have been introduced in previous sessions, but never passed.
Jeffrey Deskovic described the difficulty of reentering society after a wrongful conviction. After serving 16 years for murder, he was exonerated following DNA testing.
“I was always passed over for gainful employment,” Deskovic said. “It felt like employers always wanted someone who had job experience. They didn’t have any patience for on-the-job training.”
But fortunately for Deskovic, he was living in New York, one of 37 states, along with Washington, D.C. with programs that provide compensation for the wrongfully convicted.
Still, it took five years for him to see those funds, and in that time he saw how difficult it would be for others who didn’t receive some form of payment.
After he was compensated, Deskovic got a masters degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and started a nonprofit, the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation, to help other exonerees.
“There’s no amount of money that’s worth being wrongfully imprisoned, yet compensation is an indispensable tool in terms of putting your life back together,” Deskovic said.
Teri Himebaugh, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Police Transparency Project, said that, in some cases, Pennsylvania’s lack of compensation can actually cost taxpayers.
Since 2016, she said, 49 defendants have been exonerated just in Philadelphia. With no wrongful conviction compensation law, some of those defendants have gone on to sue the city.
Since 1992, Philadelphia has paid out over $60 million in civil settlements.
“All in all, it is not just an ethical and responsible thing to do to offer compensation,” Himebaugh said. “It is a financially stable and responsible thing to do as well.”
The group is asking for a law that would allow wrongfully convicted people to get $100,000 per year served on death row, $75,000 per year served not on death row, and $50,000 per year of time on parole.
Last year, a bill that would have done just that was introduced by Rep. Regina Young (D-Philadelphia). It was reported out of committee, but tabled before a final vote on the floor.