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alan northrop
Alan Northrop was wrongly imprisoned in Washington for 17 years. He hopes a new bill will ensure people like him receive compensation. (AP Photo/file)

Man wrongly imprisoned for 17 years wants compensation

BY Linda Thomas  on February 28, 2013 @ 9:36 am (Updated: 10:32 am - 2/28/13 )

Alan Northrop was playing pool in 1993 when his life changed forever. The logger, from Woodland, Wash. near Longview, was leaning over a pool table, and lining up a bank shot when he felt something on his wrist, a handcuff.

Northrop was arrested for the rape and kidnapping of a housekeeper. He insisted he didn't do anything wrong, but detectives believed the victim's testimony.

"I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'What? Nobody's figured this out?' I just couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it went that far, and I just couldn't believe that the law officials couldn't recognize what was going on," Northrop tells KIRO Radio's Andrew Walsh Show.

A jury convicted Northrop, a father of three, to 23 years in prison.

"My kids were very young. My oldest was only 4-years-old. She couldn't understand why her dad was being taken away. I had a 2-year-old, a 1-1/2-year-old, and of course they're not going to understand," says Northrop. "It was devastating, not being able to watch them grow up."

For years, prosecutors denied the requests to use more advanced DNA testing on the evidence in Northrop's case.

But in 2005, a new state law gave judges the power to order additional testing.

Five years after that, in 2010, he was sitting in prison and got a letter with results that conclusively showed another man's DNA was on the victim.

Northrop was finally let go.

Like 23 other states across the country, Washington provides no compensation for those who have been wrongfully convicted.

Our state legislature is trying to change that. House Bill 1341 would entitle those wrongly imprisoned to compensation of $50,000 per year, for every year spent in prison for a crime they did not commit.

For Northrop, that would amount to $850,000, which he says is nothing considering what he had to go through.

"The mental part of what we went through in there, especially when you're accused of a rape crime, you have no idea."

Washington has tried to pass a law to compensate the wrongly convicted before, but it never made it to the governor's desk.

For the states that do compensate the innocent, standards vary wildly. Some pay $50,000 per year. Wisconsin pays $5,000 per year while Missouri pays $50 per day.

The bill would also compensate those wrongly listed on a sex offender registry, to the tune of $25,000 a year.

Linda Thomas, KIRO Radio Morning News Anchor
Linda is the morning news anchor and features reporter for KIRO Radio and one of the most followed local journalists on social media.
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Comments (31)


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  • cdbtx wrote...
    Have to agree
    February 28, 2013 9:43 am
    We have a social responsibility to these people... $50K.. would you even trade $100K, $500K per year for 17 years of your life in prison... I think not...
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  • jpetro wrote...
    Give him
    February 28, 2013 9:48 am
    the money,and an apology too.
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  • mnpat wrote...
    There isn't enough money for taking away someone's life through a wrongful conviction,
    February 28, 2013 9:50 am
    Especially in a rape case where vindictiveness may be employed. The attitude that ooops, sorry about that, doesn't cover ruining a man's life forever. I would like to believe in a case such as this at the very least an investigation into the matter goes beyond the release of an individual but also if false testimony, failure of following proper proceedures impacted the judges decision. Someone should be held culpable.
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  • Chris Halliday wrote...
    Compensation isn't a law already!?!
    February 28, 2013 9:57 am
    Financially compensating a wrongfully imprisoned person is a slam dunk, or so I thought. I just can't believe how heartless that is to have an innocent man in jail for 17 years and just basically say, "Oops. We're sorry we ruined your life and all. Have a nice day." This guy deserves millions and his accuser deserves some serious prison time. But the money saved by not giving this man his due can go to financing illegal immigrants' drivers licenses. I love this state for its climate, beautiful scenery, and a lot of other reasons. But I sure do hate it for some of the legal issues it has. I wrongfully spent 70 days in jail for a dismissed charge. You're dam right I felt I should have been given some money for that atrocity. But I had too many things going on at the time to pursue the matter.
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  • jstumbo wrote...
    I think people only...
    February 28, 2013 12:22 pm
    get money from the state if they sue, and can show that the state did something wrong. Not that the state and court just got it wrong. Makes me wonder if the state had to pay money to people wrongly convicted if they would fight releasing people more? But I think that we do as a society owe people that are wrongly convicted. "Oops, society made a mistake. Get over it.", I dont think that is enough.
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  • Stevebo wrote...
    I would agree... $50k is hardly anything compared to the anguish of being wrongfully imprisoned.
    February 28, 2013 10:09 am
    My opinion is that a person being wrongfully imprisoned is just as bad as a criminal "getting off on a technicality."

    It would be my opinion that this man should most definitely receive compensation.

    I think that it's a travesty that he was wrongfully convicted and was in prison for 17 years, and that it's equally egregious that prosecutors refused to do modern DNA testing (And that a judge had to order it).

    I'm by far not a legal expert, but it seems to be that the prosecutor's office is liable in that sense and I hope that this man sues them. Normally I tend to be against lawsuits as I feel our society is overly letigious, but this case certainly seems to warrant that.

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  • Cbrew wrote...
    It's such a hard topic really....
    February 28, 2013 10:15 am
    You have to compensate the guy but at the same time that means those of us who pay our taxes are having to pay compensation for the wrongful conviction of an idiot prosecuter, but at the same time if you tell prosecutures they could be punished for putting the wrong person behind bars... they're going to start taking pleas and letting people off easy to make sure they're not on the hook if they're wrong... I guess the only answer is to compensate the wrongfully convicted... It sucks but i suppose it's the only thing you can do... pretty big screw up by those prosecuters... part of me feels like they should have to answer for their ineptitude.
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  • po_guy wrote...
    I agree except
    February 28, 2013 10:44 am
    That in any wrongful case the suit should just be automatic to sue the prosecutor.
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  • HLC wrote...
    If I was on the compensation jury.
    February 28, 2013 10:24 am
    I would award him 10 million at the very least then hope he sues the prosecutor and get him disbarred.
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  • po_guy wrote...
    The judges and prosecutors in this case
    February 28, 2013 10:41 am
    should be the one who have to pay the penalty.
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  • SeattleJack wrote...
    There should only be compensation
    February 28, 2013 11:01 am
    if negligence or incompetence can be shown, as it apparently can in this case. (That's awful, that prosecutors would refuse to review potentially exonerating evidence just to protect their conviction rate. Talk about pathologically self-centered.) But if proper procedures were followed, and the jury simply made its decision based on the evidence, why does anyone "owe" you money if the jury turns out to be wrong?
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  • cdbtx wrote...
    As much as I hate paying taxes
    February 28, 2013 11:08 am
    This would be one instance where I would have no problem.... it's part of living in a free society with our justice system... it's a good system, but like all systems it has it's faults... and someone wrongly convicted sadly has paid the price... it's the least we can do...
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