ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
A ``relief bill'' for Edward W. Honaker stalled Wednesday after state lawmakers grappled over how to repay Honaker for the 10 years he languished behind bars for a rape he did not commit.
The Claims Committee of the House of Delegates agreed that the state owes Honaker some compensation. But his case is so unusual that lawmakers were unable to decide if his request for $500,000 is grossly inflated or horribly undervalued.
Del. Leo Wardrup, R-Virginia Beach, suggested the committee base the amount on lost wages. Honaker, who lives in Roanoke, was making about $17,000 a year as a carpenter at the time of his arrest in Nelson County in October 1984.
As a rough estimate, Wardrup put the amount of lost wages - plus interest - at $350,000.
The salary-based model prompted a table-pounding response from Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk.
``I don't think it's a matter of simple reimbursement,'' Jones said. ``This is a matter of damages. This man has been hurt.''
Del. Kenneth Melvin, D-Portsmouth, said he was sympathetic to Honaker's plight, but he cautioned that the amount of money sought was a ``quantum leap'' from any previous claim by a wrongly imprisoned person.
``I know this is a horrible situation, but are we ready to take that leap?'' Melvin said.
The committee postponed action for a week to let Honaker's attorney, Murray M. Janus, research the formula used by other states.
Honaker, 45, was freed in October 1994 with an unconditional pardon after DNA tests proved that he did not commit a June 1984 rape in Nelson County. Such tests were not available at the time of his trial in Nelson County Circuit Court.
Honaker now lives in Roanoke and is employed with a heating and cooling installation business. He is seeking relief from the General Assembly because laws and court rulings prevent him from suing the prosecutor or the victim who identified him as her attacker.
His request has precedence. In 1990, Virginia Beach paid $10,000 to a man wrongly jailed for nine days. A few years ago, the state paid $117,000 to a mentally handicapped man who wrongly pleaded guilty to a murder and served five years in prison.
Honaker's original bill, sponsored by Claims Committee Chairman Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke, called for a $750,000 lump sum payment.
A revision submitted Tuesday called for $500,000 - a $150,000 lump payment and $350,000 for an annuity that would pay Honaker about $2,000 a month for 10 years.
Woodrum said the final figure - whatever formula is used - will be subjective. ``We can't reimburse someone for the Kafka-esque horror of knowing you're not guilty but knowing you will spend the rest of your natural life behind bars.''
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Honaker. color. KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB