Innocent man spent 17 years in prison, receives no compensation for time and money lost

In 1993, Alan Northrop was playing pool. He was lining up a bank shot when he felt something completely unexpected on his wrist: a handcuff. Northrop was accused for raping and kidnapping a housekeeper. "I instantly said, 'No you've got the wrong guy.'" Northrop said to the detectives. Even though the victim was blindfolded for the attack, the detectives and a jury found him guilty, sentencing the father of three children under 6 years old to 23 years in prison. In 2010, after years of trying to convince the officers that he did nothing wrong, Northrop receives a letter he had given up hope on. "I was jumping around the day room saying, 'I'm out of here! I'm out of here!'. A few months later, he walks out of prison, completely ecstatic. But Northrop had been convicted in Washington, one of the 23 states that do not provide compensation for those who have been wrongfully committed. Northrop had less than $25,000, including the money he was sent in prison, and the 42-cent-an-hour prison job he had. Money would have given Northrop "a chance to get started over again and have a normal life again" but he works full time and lives in a small room in a friend's house because he can't afford his own place.