Ohio should pass bill on wrong ful compensation

Compensating the wrongfully imprisoned isn’t a novelty in Ohio.

Ohio’s spending on such settlements has averaged about $2.73 million a year over the last eight years, according to Legislative Service Commission data.

It’s an important corrective to prosecutorial misconduct, forensic errors or simple human mistakes that can land the wrong person in prison — sometimes for years. But Ohio’s current system has sprung loopholes.

That’s why the Ohio House should pass a bipartisan bill aimed at making sure that those wrongfully imprisoned are justly compensated.

Last month, a House committee voted 10-1 to approve House Bill 411, co-sponsored by state Reps. Bill Seitz, a conservative Republican from suburban Cincinnati, and Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat. That sets up a possible floor vote.

The Seitz-Sykes bill is opposed by a number of prosecutors on the grounds it may grant compensation for prosecutorial errors even when guilt remains possible . ...

But Seitz doesn’t see things that way: “I shake my head at the idea that, ‘Oh, well, this is money for criminals.’” Seitz told Cleveland.com’s Jackie Borchardt.

“They’re only criminals because the government failed its constitutional duty.” ...

Seitz is correct. HB 411 is a matter of justice. It deserves House passage — now.

Read the full editorial from the Cleveland Plain Dealer at bit.ly/2v8b4E5