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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 (33)


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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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  • MainEvent wrote...
    50k
    February 28, 2013 11:09 am
    a year for everyone affected. Dont forget the poor children that had to grow up without a father. This is sad and this man should be given tax exempt status for the rest of his life.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hpitantso wrote...
    prosecutors denied the requests to use more advanced DNA testing on the evidence in Northrop's case.
    February 28, 2013 11:56 am
    For this reason alone, triple the damages. Prosecutors could have minimized this injustice and damage to his kids, but refused and were dead wrong.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • juel wrote...
    I agree and let's lock the prosecutor up!
    February 28, 2013 12:58 pm
    I listened to the interview and it make you feel worse. There isn't enough money to repay this injustice but he should get at least $50k per year if not more. Years ago I was wrongly accused of something and was able to be set free before I was arrested but I was interrogated for hours. I never felt so helpless in my life.
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  • Stevebo wrote...
    RE: SeattleJack
    February 28, 2013 11:57 am
    Try spending 17 years in prison for something you didn't do and then see if your prespective changes after that.
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  • hpitantso wrote...
    SeattleJack wrote...
    February 28, 2013 11:59 am
    You need to put in prison as a rapist for being stupid
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  • SeattleJack wrote...
    Stevebo and hpitantso
    February 28, 2013 1:07 pm
    So answer the question: Why am I owed money when the jury just did it's job?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Derrol_o wrote...
    SeattleJack
    February 28, 2013 2:23 pm
    That's where the issue lies. If a jury wrongfully convicts, then someone didn't do their job, whether it be the jury, the prosecutor, the defense, whatever. A wrongful conviction is a failure of the justice system any way you cut it. So the person wrongfully convicted should be compensated by the system that failed them.
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  • Chris Halliday wrote...
    SeattleJack
    February 28, 2013 1:45 pm
    It doesn't matter if it's one person, or a whole slew of people who mistakenly sent you to prison. A mistake is a mistake and if it takes millions to fix that mistake then that is what needs to be done. In this case that slew of people equates to the prosecutor and the jury. It's a rare occurense but it happens and has happened here. Suppose a bridge gets built and is later found to be of faulty construction. There were plenty of workers doing their job on that bridge. But the thing will fall down anyway if expensive repairs don't take place. You're simply foolish to think this poor man doesn't deserve a huge payout SeattleJack. Innocents get sent to prison rarely. When they do each one should never have to work again. Jesus Christ SeattleJack, didn't you ever watch Shawshank Redemption? Don't you think the main character in that story deserved compensation?
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  • andy123 wrote...
    All I can say is "Hell yes!"
    February 28, 2013 2:34 pm
    All I can say is "Hell yes!"
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  • hpitantso wrote...
    Sick you also wrote ...
    February 28, 2013 2:58 pm
    SickofSeattleite wrote... and the teen who got so drunk and passed out? February 27, 2013 5:34 am no consequence for her other than a rape she was to passed out to notice? Yah gross, yah wrong....so is drinking in a dark alley. Sounds like a situation where the teen made herself available to be put in all kinds of nasty terrible positions...= teen made a poor decision. Homeless guy was just taking advantage of the opportunity...it's not like he would have raped her if she wasn't just laying there available to be raped. I blame the parents. Obviously they missed a few important conversations with their moronic daughter. Your Rapist views are sick. Derrol_o told you all that need in this case
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  • Ricoli wrote...
    This man needs to be compensated now.
    March 21, 2013 6:59 pm
    The state could cut back on a lot of fraudulent welfare cases and pay this man for the injustice. Messiah 101, above, has hit the nail on the head.
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