Delaware Code § 10-7002

Declaration of purpose
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The State recognizes that certain individuals have served sentences of incarceration, parole, probation, and sex offender registration
in the State for crimes they did not commit, and that such individuals have been denied compensation for their wrongful convictions
unless they can prove their wrongful incarceration was caused by official misconduct. The State believes that individuals who were
innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted suffer long-term hardships as a result of their wrongful convictions, and are entitled
to compensation for the sentences they wrongfully served, regardless of whether their convictions resulted from official misconduct.
Therefore, this chapter provides compensation to individuals whose convictions have been overturned followed by either acquittal or
dismissal of charges, and who are found to have been factually innocent of the crime or crimes at issue, for time that they served sentences
due solely to the wrongful conviction.
This chapter denies compensation to individuals who intentionally caused their convictions in order to prevent the convictions of the
true perpetrators of the crimes at issue.
The State recognizes that individuals whose convictions are overturned in most cases have been released from prison without any
reintegration services, even those services that are routinely provided to releasees whose convictions have not been overturned. The
State finds that this lack of services unjustly hampers the ability of these individuals to reintegrate into society. Accordingly, this chapter
provides reintegration services to such individuals.

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