Posted on Wed, May. 07, 2008

In a day of righting government injustice, a wrongfully convicted man was finally compensated for 24 years in prison Tuesday, just hours after Gov. Charlie Crist signed off on an $18 million payment plan for a brain-damaged girl whom the system failed.

The back-to-back public events for Alan Crotzer and 9-year-old Marissa Amora brought long-awaited smiles to the faces of friends, families and public officials like Crist, who said of Amora's settlement: ``When you see a wrong, you try to right it.''

This year, legislative leaders have compensated at least 11 individuals and families who were harmed by government bus or truck drivers, doctors or childcare workers or negligent construction crews.

But for all the relief, about 15 families walked away from the spring legislative session empty-handed -- from a judge who was blinded during bad back-surgery to a kid shot at school and a doctor strangled by a schizophrenic inmate at a jail.

Total sought by at least 36 claimants: $34 million. Total awarded to 11: $18.4 million.

In almost every case, the people seeking compensation have either won a court judgment in their favor, or the government responsible for hurting them has offered to settle. Yet under state law, the Legislature has final say over nearly every payment to the aggrieved when it totals more than $200,000.

So as with any piece of legislation, some win something. Some lose. And insiders can't really explain why.

`SYSTEM IS FLAWED'

''There's an understandable concern with the claims process,'' said Greenacres Democratic Sen. Dave Aronberg. ``The system is flawed. It rewards those with good lobbyists. It is left up to the whims of the Legislature and leadership. And we need a more consistent process. But some of these cases you just can't say no to.''

One example: The case of Schneidine Theogene, whose 7-year-old body barely survived the broadside from a Miami-Dade transit bus that ran a red light and slammed her mother's car in 2004. Aronberg sponsored her successful $2.4 million claim along with the compensation bill for Crotzer.

Crotzer spent 24 years in prison for two rapes he didn't commit. After trying three times in the Legislature, he was awarded $1.25 million. State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink officially signed his paperwork with him Tuesday.

Marissa Amora's guardians also struggled with the state, namely the Department of Children and Families, which was held liable for releasing her when she was 2 years old into the custody of a neglectful and abusive Lake Worth household in 2000, despite warnings about abuse in the home. According to legislative records, Marissa's mother's boyfriend likely bashed her head into the walls and floor by swinging her around from her arms and legs.

Severely brain-damaged, Marissa uses a wheelchair and needs a feeding tube.

Rather than appeal an adverse ruling to the Florida Supreme Court, Attorney General Bob Butterworth made sure to settle the suit as soon as Crist appointed him. ''To appeal was just to delay,'' Butterworth said. ``It wasn't right.''

Under the legislation Crist signed Tuesday, Marissa's caregivers in Marianna are guaranteed $1.7 million yearly -- and that's subject to legislative approval every year for a decade.

In 2005 and 2006 no claims bills were approved.But in the past two years, House Speaker Marco Rubio and Senate President Ken Pruitt made sure to clear out some of the backlog

MORE HELP LIKELY

Crist said he expects legislators will continue to help out Marissa and those who have been wronged.

''It's important for us to make sure that justice is done,'' he said. ``And that is exactly what is happening today to the best degree that we can in government.''