How Much is 22 Years of Your Life Worth?

Many tort reformers want a "loser pays" system, meaning that if a plaintiff files a lawsuit and loses, the plaintiff has to pay the expenses of the defendant.

If we were going to implement that, shouldn't we also make the state reimburse criminal defendants that are acquitted, or have the charges dismissed?

And what about people like this guy, who are sent to prison for decades, and then exonerated? Shouldn't they receive compensation?

PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. - A man who was freed after serving 22 years for a rape he didn't commit walked out of jail with a few possessions in a plastic bag, and nothing else.

Wilton A. Dedge, 42, didn't get the $100 that Florida gives even its most vicious ex-cons when he was released last month. He didn't get the counseling or job referrals or temporary housing the state offers paroled murderers and rapists.

He didn't even get a bus ticket home.