09 HR161/SCSFA/2
SENATE
SUBSTITUTE TO HR 161
ADOPTED
SENATE
A
RESOLUTION
Compensating
Mr. John Jerome White; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
in 1979, a man forcibly entered the home of a 74 year-old woman in Meriwether
County and robbed, beat, and raped her; and
WHEREAS,
a young man named Mr. John Jerome White was convicted of the crimes, largely on
eyewitness testimony, and sentenced to life in prison; and
WHEREAS,
he was paroled in 1990, but subsequent convictions caused him to be returned to
prison to serve out the life sentence; and
WHEREAS,
DNA tests conducted at the urging of the Georgia Innocence Project led
authorities to identify the actual perpetrator of the crimes, a man with whom
law enforcement was familiar and who was in the lineup at the time the witness
mistakenly identified Mr. White as the perpetrator; and
WHEREAS,
on December 10, 2007, Mr. White was released after his 1979 indictment was
nol-prossed; and
WHEREAS,
Mr. White, now 48 years old, lost almost three decades of his life and is now
the longest serving of the nation's exonerees due to post-conviction DNA
testing; and
WHEREAS,
Mr. White has suffered loss of liberty, personal injury, lost wages, injury to
reputation, emotional distress, and other damages as a result of his 28 years of
incarceration and expenses in trying to prove his innocence totaling $3 million;
and
WHEREAS,
the conviction, incarceration, and subsequent loss of liberty and other damages
occurred through no fault or negligence on the part of Mr. White, and it is only
fitting and proper that he be compensated for his
loss.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the Department of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay the sum of $500,000.00, to be paid out over a period of 20 years to Mr. John Jerome White as compensation as provided above. The payments provided for in this resolution may be accomplished through the purchase of one or more annuities. Said sum shall be paid from funds appropriated to or available to the Department of Administrative Services and shall be in full and complete satisfaction of all claims against the state arising out of said occurrence.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the Department of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay the sum of $500,000.00, to be paid out over a period of 20 years to Mr. John Jerome White as compensation as provided above. The payments provided for in this resolution may be accomplished through the purchase of one or more annuities. Said sum shall be paid from funds appropriated to or available to the Department of Administrative Services and shall be in full and complete satisfaction of all claims against the state arising out of said occurrence.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all payments and all obligations of the state for any
and all future payments shall cease upon the date of death of the beneficiary,
Mr. John Jerome White, and no such payments shall be assignable under any
circumstances. All payments shall cease upon any further felony conviction.
Mr. White shall be subject to periodic, unannounced drug testing, and all
payments shall cease if any such test indicates the presence of any illegal
drugs. No payment shall be made during any period during which Mr. White is not
employed, self-employed, performing voluntary work for a charitable
organization, or seeking employment. Prior to the commencement of payments, Mr.
White and the Department of Administrative Services shall enter into a written
agreement containing the terms and conditions specified in this resolution; and
the execution of such agreement shall be a condition precedent to any payment by
the department.