Less than two weeks after Idaho’s new Wrongful Conviction Compensation law was signed, Idaho Innocence Project filed the first compensation suit under the new statute. The lawsuit, prepared by a New York law firm and filed on March 15 by IIP Legal Director Robin Long, sets in motion a process to compensate Idahoan Christopher Tapp for the years he served in prison.The Idaho Innocence Project is also working pro bono with Andrea Carone from the local law firm Stoel Rives to prepare a demand claim on behalf of exoneree Charles Fain for the years he served on death row. (Photo: Charles Fain with Andrea Carone and Robin Long)
“I am so pleased that Idaho finally has a compensation bill for the wrongfully convicted,” Robin Long said. “Our client, Charles Fain, spent nearly 20 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. In 2001, he left the prison with nothing more than a new shirt and pants. Having had no work experience in two decades, among all of the horrors that go along with death row, Charles has had to work hard just to survive. Now 72 years old, and still suffering from the ramifications of his conviction, he has hope for brighter days ahead. “