A man who spent nearly 15 years in a West Virginia prison for a crime he didn’t commit is another step closer to receiving $1.56 million from the state for his time behind bars.
On Wednesday, the West Virginia Senate unanimously approved its annual bill authorizing payments for people who have had financial claims against the state approved by the Legislative Claims Commission. Among them was Jason Lively, who spent years in prison for a first-degree murder he did not commit.
While the commission typically handles small claims — like cars damaged by potholes and contractors who didn’t get paid — the bill also includes those who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
The last payment to a wrongfully convicted person was in 2021, when Jimmie Gardner, who was falsely convicted on the testimony of disgraced state lab tech Fred Zain, settled with the state for $3 million after spending 27 years in prison.
The bill authorizing the payments moved through the Finance Committee and the full Senate without debate or discussion of Lively’s payment. It will now go to the House of Delegates, where it has to pass before being signed by Gov. Jim Justice.
Lively was convicted in 2006 in connection with the death of a prominent doctor and political figure in McDowell County. He was released in 2020 after new forensic analysis determined the fire that killed the victim was electrical and not arson.
After a two-day hearing in early October, the commission finally rendered its decision in December 2023. While a far-cry from the $18 million Lively’s attorneys argued for, the $1.56 million payment is still well above the $51,000-$117,000 that lawyers for the state had proposed.
The three-member commission determined nearly $500,000 of his claim should go towards medical treatment, namely for PTSD Lively developed after spending 11 out of 15 years in solitary confinement.
Nearly $1 million goes towards his “loss of liberty and freedom,” per the commission’s recommendation.
