Wrongfully convicted man speaks out about experience, vetoed legislation providing compensation

BOISE — When Charles Fain was exonerated in the 1982 rape and murder of a 9-year-old Nampa girl in 2001, he said he received a new set of clothes upon his release from prison.

It was the only form of restitution that Fain, then 52 years old, was given after serving nearly 18 years on death row for a crime he never committed, he said. This year, a bill passed by both the House and Senate would have changed this, providing Fain and others in a similar position money and assistance, such as health insurance, counseling and help with college tuition, housing and/or finding a job.