Kansas bill would pay wrongfully convicted Floyd Bledsoe $235,000

TOPEKA – A Kansas man who was wrongfully convicted of murder would be eligible for about $235,000 in state compensation under proposed legislation.

Floyd Bledsoe was convicted in 2000, for the 1999 murder of Camille Arfmann in Oskaloosa.

He was sentenced to life in prison but was released Dec. 8, 2015, after a DNA test and suicide notes indicated his brother, Tom Bledsoe, killed Arfmann.

Rep. Ramon Gonzalez introduced a measure recently that would allow people wrongfully convicted to bring suit in state court within two years of their release. Compensation is doled out using a formula based on the federal minimum wage and time spent in prison.

Under the formula, Bledsoe would be eligible for $235,248.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports payments would come out of the state’s general fund.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 7:28 AM with the headline "Kansas bill would pay wrongfully convicted Floyd Bledsoe $235,000."