Georgia’s 2025 Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act has caused confusion, especially among incarcerated people hoping it may help overturn their convictions. To be clear, this law does not undo convictions, grant new trials, shorten sentences, or release anyone from prison. An Atlanta criminal defense lawyer may still need to pursue appeals, habeas relief, a new trial motion, or another post-conviction option before compensation is even possible.
The Act is about money after a wrongful conviction has already been legally addressed. It may provide financial compensation to someone who was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated, but only after the person meets strict requirements under Georgia law.
The biggest rumor seems to be that this law is a way to get released from prison. Some people believe the Georgia Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act creates a new path to challenge a conviction, have a judge review an old trial, or secure an early release. That is not what the law does.
The 2025 Act does not overturn convictions, and it cannot get anyone out of prison. It is not an appellate court, and it does not replace the standard post-conviction process.
Instead, this law is about financial compensation after the fact. It applies only after a conviction has already been reversed or vacated and followed by a qualifying result, such as dismissal or acquittal, or after the person has received a pardon based on innocence. The hard work of clearing the conviction must happen first.
Before Governor Kemp signed the bill into law in May 2025, Georgia was one of the few remaining states without a standard process for compensating people who were wrongfully imprisoned. If someone spent years in prison for a crime they did not commit and was later proven innocent, the state did not automatically owe them anything.
To obtain compensation, an exoneree usually had to convince a state lawmaker to introduce a special compensation bill just for them. The 2025 Act changed that by creating a formal path to financial compensation. The law became effective on July 1, 2025. Under the current system, a person who qualifies can file a claim with the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH).
Recovering compensation is not automatic. To qualify, a claimant must first show that they were convicted of a felony in Georgia and served time for that conviction.
They must also show that the conviction was reversed or vacated and the charges were dismissed, that they were acquitted after the conviction was reversed or vacated, or that another qualifying event under the law took place. A pardon based on innocence may also qualify.
Once the person meets those basic requirements, they must go before an administrative law judge and prove their innocence by a preponderance of the evidence. That means that they must show it is more likely than not that they did not commit the crime or any lesser-included offense.
If the claim is successful, compensation is set at $75,000 per year of wrongful incarceration. If the person was wrongfully sentenced to death and spent time on death row, the law allows an additional $25,000 for each year spent on death row.
Generally, a claim must be filed within three years after the required acknowledgment under the law, or within three years of July 1, 2025, whichever comes later. The law also has special timing rules for certain newly discovered evidence. If the wrongfully convicted person has died, heirs or a legal representative may be able to bring the claim.
The bottom line is simple. This Act may help compensate someone after a wrongful conviction has already been cleared, but it is not a tool for overturning a conviction or getting released from prison.
