A man who spent over a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit has become the first to benefit from a new Rhode Island law which lets the wrongfully-imprisoned seek reimbursement.
Paul Courteau of Brockton was convicted in 1981 of an armed robbery at a North Providence jewelry store.
A new law signed by Governor Dan McKee last year allows people like Courteau to be compensated fifty-thousand dollars for each year of wrongful imprisonment.
He got a payout of over a half-million dollars in Superior Court on Thursday.
Courteau told reporters all he wants to do is get his life back.
(Photo by RICHARD BOUHET/AFP via Getty Images)
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