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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A man who spent 21 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his seven children might be compensated by the state more than 40 years later under a bill passed by the Legislature.
The Senate voted unanimously late Friday for a bill that changes a law that compensates wrongfully incarcerated prisoners so that James Richardson can be paid more than $1 million. The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott.
Bill sponsor Sen. Geraldine Thompson of Orlando said now 78-year-old Richardson wants to build a church with the money.
Richardson was convicted in 1968 of poisoning the lunch of his children with an insecticide. But the conviction was set aside after it was reinvestigated by then-Miami-Dade County State Attorney Janet Reno.
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