The North Carolina Industrial Commission processes claims for compensation.  You will need to submit Form EC100 to the Industrial Commission to begin the process of obtaining your compensation.  You must submit Form EC100 within 5 years of your exoneration.

Please consult an attorney for assistance with Form EC100.  If an attorney is requesting a portion of your compensation as a fee, do not use that attorney.  You may use the attorney who represented you during your exoneration, or you can contact an attorney at the clinics and nonprofit listed below:

Wrongful Convictions Clinic
Duke Law School
Box 90360
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0360
Phone: (919) 613-7169

Innocence and Justice Clinic
Wake Forest University Law School
1834 Wake Forest Rd
Winston-Salem, NC 27106
Phone: (336) 758-5430

North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence
P.O. Box 52446
Shannon Plaza Station
Durham, North Carolina 27717-2446
Phone: (919) 489-3268
Email: [email protected]

To submit Form EC100, you will need:

• Social Security Card
• Certified Copy of the Judgement of Conviction(s)
• Copy of (a) Pardon of Innocence signed by the Governor of North Carolina; or (b) Copy of the Judgement by the Three-Judge Panel Determining Innocence
• The Dates of Incarceration

If you need any assistance obtaining these documents, please reach out to the NC Innocence Inquiry Commission’s victim services program or ask your attorney.

2(a). How do I replace or request a Social Security card?

You can replace your Social Security card for free if it is lost or stolen.  A Re-Entry Council can assist you in getting a new Social Security card.  To find your local Re-Entry Council, please visit: https://www.dac.nc.gov/divisions-and-sections/rehabilitation-and-reentry/local-reentry-councils

The Industrial Commission will hold a hearing to review your application.  Typically, the hearing will be scheduled within two months following the submission of your application.  The hearing may be virtual or in-person.  As the applicant, you have the opportunity to make a statement during the hearing.

If you were exonerated by a three-judge panel or received a pardon of innocence, your claim for compensation will not be contested.  The Industrial Commission will still hold a hearing for uncontested claims.  The most common issue with applications is determining how much prison time counts as wrongful imprisonment when the exoneree was serving concurrent sentences for a crime they did commit.

If your application is granted, you may also apply for funding to pay for job training and education, meaning the state will cover the cost of job training and education going forward.  Your award will be paid by the Office of State Budget and Management.  Know that the timeline of receiving payment can be unpredictable.

The Clemency Office reviews cases that may be eligible for a Governor’s Pardon of Innocence.    A pardon of innocence is “issued upon the Governor’s satisfaction of Actual Innocence.”  If you were exonerated by a three-judge panel for a conviction for which you pled guilty or if your conviction was vacated by a Motion for Appropriate Relief, obtaining a pardon of innocence is required to apply for compensation.

Your application should include:

• A letter outlining the reasons you are seeking a Pardon of Innocence.
• A personal life history
• An overview of the crime
• Letters of support
• Indictment(s) or Bill(s) of Information
• Judgement and Commitments
• Plea Agreements

It is recommended that an attorney assist you with preparing your application.  If you need an attorney, please contact the innocence clinics and nonprofit listed above.

Fortunately, a three-judge panel’s ruling that the exoneree has proven their innocence by clear and convincing evidence can allow the Clemency Office to move quickly to grant a pardon.  Unfortunately, the Clemency Office is not required to review applications on any set timeline, and the time it will take to be granted a pardon of innocence is difficult to predict.  This process is not transparent as it is at the governor’s discretion.  In past Commission exoneration cases, pardons of innocence were granted within one year of the exoneree’s Motion for Appropriate Relief, but the review of an application may take longer.

While the Innocence Inquiry Commission does not have an in-house exoneree services provider, the Victim Services Program Manager will work with exonerees and their loved ones to connect them to organizations that will meet their specific needs, such as counseling, job training, health care, and housing.  The Victim Services Program Manager is always available to provide support and information to exonerees and their loved ones.

• Restorative Justice Services: The Commission has a partnership with Healing Justice, a national nonprofit that serves exonerees and original victims of crimes that resulted in a wrongful conviction. Through this partnership, the Commission can offer restorative justice processes. Restorative justice addresses the harm caused by a wrongful conviction through seeking to understand the impacted individuals’ experiences and what their needs are in the wake of that experience. The victim services program will provide a safe setting and process for participants to share their perspectives, ask questions, and create a better understanding of the crime and the wrongful conviction. This might be a good fit for you if you would like to meet others connected to your wrongful conviction case.  You can explore this process by speaking with the Victim Services Program Manager and Healing Justice.