House unanimously passes $5.1 million claims bill

Each year, the joint House-Senate Subcommittee on Claims decides which tort claims against the state should be funded.

This year’s bill contains just over $5.1 million in Fiscal Year 2027 payments, including $4.5 million to Marvin Haynes. He was wrongfully incarcerated for 19 1-2 years on a murder conviction that was overturned because it was based on false evidence and due process was violated.

Passed unanimously by the House Wednesday, HF5074 goes to the Senate. Rep. Luke Frederick (DFL-Mankato) is the House sponsor.

Haynes sought relief under the Imprisonment and Exoneration Remedies Act that provides a compensation process for cases where a person was exonerated of a felony for which they were wrongfully incarcerated.

[MORE: Details of each claim]

Also under the act, Clayton Groves would receive $350,000 for spending nearly 52 months in prison before his sexual misconduct conviction was vacated by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. James Davis would be paid $250,000 after he spent almost three years in prison on the exonerated convictions before it was vacated “due to ineffective assistance of counsel.”

The law also contains a $4,570 payment to Mark Carroll for a personal injury claim. He sustained permanent right ankle injuries while performing assigned duties at the Stillwater prison.

Per the bill, state statue permits a claim “for losses suffered while incarcerated in a state correctional facility or for injuries suffered by and medical services provided to persons injured while performing community service or sentence-to-service work for correctional purposes or while incarcerated in a state correctional facility.”