Wrongfully convicted hope Kentucky will pay back exonerees

FRANKFORT, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — Although rare, there are innocent people who fall through the cracks of the justice system and are behind bars. Some exonerated people believe Kentucky owes them some financial support; however, attempts to build momentum on the issue in Frankfort have yet to result in a bill making it to the governor’s desk.

Forty-three years ago, Mike VonAllmen learned he was the prime suspect in a crime he didn’t commit.

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“The police told me over the phone they had three felony warrants on me for rape, robbery, and sodomy. I said, ‘Well, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,’” VonAllmen told FOX 56.

On October 10, 1981, Ronald Tackett abducted a 22-year-old woman at gunpoint outside a Louisville bar and took her to a park, where she was beaten, raped, and robbed. Except Tackett was never charged for the crime.

“Then on Sunday night, this is me,” VonAllmen said, gesturing to a younger picture of himself. “I walk into the very same bar without a clue of what was going on.”

The police got a tip from the bar after many patrons assumed VonAllmen was the same man returning to the scene of the crime. VonAllmen was convicted and ordered to serve 30 years in prison. He paroled out after 11. However, restarting life also had its barriers. For years, VonAllmen had to navigate finding work as a sex offender, something he had to disclose to employers.

“Yeah, one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in life was say to this lady, Thank you for hiring me. But now I got to tell you, I am a convicted sex offender,” VonAllmen explained after being hired as a plumber.

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Tackett died in 1983 in a police chase, the same year VonAllmen was convicted for Tackett’s crime. It wasn’t until 2010 that VonAllmen’s name was cleared with help from the Kentucky Innocence Project.

“What happens to our exonerees is they have less support when they leave prison, when they’re innocent than somebody who’s maybe getting out on parole. Those folks, they have support systems. They have community services. Our exonerees are considered to have never been convicted,” Kentucky Innocence Project directing attorney Suzanne Hopf said.

Kentucky is among 12 states without an exoneree compensation law. This was the third year in a row a proposal was filed but did not get steam in Frankfort. Hopf said such a law would only impact a handful of people like Mike, less than 10. However, Hopf explained that some exonerees are in their 60s and 70s by the time their record is cleared and are often without people like family who can help them return to normal.

“The amount of support that somebody needs when they leave prison is going to require them to buy a house, a car, all of the necessities that they need,” Hopf said.

The Kentucky Innocence Project’s current proposal is for $65,000 per year for each year incarcerated, and $25,000 per year for each year paroled, which is something they hope to continue discussions on in Frankfort.

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