§ 103.001.Claimants Entitled to Compensation and Health Benefits Coverage

The chapter opens by naming who may be paid, and the door is narrow.

Every claim starts with a sentence served. The person must have served, in whole or in part, a sentence in prison under the laws of this state. Charges dropped before sentencing, or a conviction reversed before any time was served, do not reach this chapter.

Three routes qualify, and each is a formal act by someone other than the claimant. A person cannot argue innocence to the comptroller; the person must arrive holding one of three documents.

The first is a full pardon on the basis of innocence for the crime the person was sentenced for. A pardon granted for any other reason does not qualify, because the ground of the pardon is what the chapter reads.

The second is habeas relief based on a court finding that the person is "actually innocent of the crime for which the person was sentenced." Relief granted on some other defect — a bad jury charge, ineffective counsel, a suppression error — does not carry the finding this chapter wants.

The third is habeas relief followed by a dismissal the State itself supports. The state district court must have dismissed the charge on a motion in which the state’s attorney states that "no credible evidence exists that inculpates the defendant," and the same attorney must state, in the motion or an affidavit, a belief that the defendant is innocent of the crime.

Concurrent sentences are carved out. No compensation is owed for any part of a prison term the person was also serving for another crime the section does not cover, so a wrongful conviction stacked alongside a valid one buys nothing for the overlapping months.

Death does not end the claim. If a deceased person would qualify if living — including a person who received a posthumous pardon — the heirs, legal representatives and estate take the lump sum under Section 103.052.

Health coverage rides along with the money. An eligible person may buy group health coverage through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as though employed there, may include a spouse and dependents, and pays the same monthly contribution a department employee pays. The coverage runs for a period equal to the total time served for the crime, counting parole, mandatory supervision and any time spent registering under Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The annuity can be tapped to pay for that coverage. Section 103.053(c) otherwise forbids reducing an annuity payment, and Subsection (e) makes the exception, sending the withheld amount to an account the comptroller designates by rule.