Missouri Lawmakers Expanded Wrongful Conviction Compensation. Now the State Is Fighting to Block It
Following last year’s expansion of compensation eligibility for wrongfully convicted individuals in Missouri, Dale Helmig anticipated receiving close to $1 million for the over 14 years he spent behind bars. Similarly, Darryl Burton expected to secure upward of $1.5 million for the more than 24 years he served in prison. Today, however, both men find themselves dragged back into the legal system that originally put them away. The state attorney general’s office is arguing in court that the two men are not actually innocent—effectively setting aside prior judicial decisions—and that even if they were, the new statute is not retroactive.
The legal pushback led by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway represents the latest chapter in a long history of state prosecutors vigorously opposing innocence claims. When Helmig and Burton were released from prison years ago, state law restricted compensation strictly to individuals exonerated through DNA evidence. That left out people whose convictions were overturned based on witness recantations or newly discovered evidence. Last year, the Missouri Legislature and Gov. Mike Kehoe changed the framework, approving a measure that allocates about $65,000 for every year of wrongful incarceration, paid out annually rather than as a lump sum.
The Battle Over Retroactivity and Actual Innocence
The legislative intent behind the expanded statute was clear to its proponents, but the statutory language left room for aggressive litigation. “It is our fault as the government, and we should rectify that, regardless of when they were exonerated.”
“The Attorney General’s Office has opposed claims of innocence on a very consistent basis, even though there have been times when the local prosecutor’s offices have recognized that the person had a valid claim of innocence.” — Peter Joy, law professor at Washington University in St. Louis
Decades of Legal Fallout for Helmig and Burton
In Helmig’s case, a DeKalb County judge ruled in 2010 that clear and convincing evidence established his innocence in the 1993 murder of his mother, Norma. Uncovered evidence had implicated Helmig’s father amid divorce proceedings, undermining the prosecution’s timeline regarding a discarded purse. A state trooper also recanted trial testimony. Although the Western District Court of Appeals later upheld the decision to vacate the conviction based on two of Helmig’s six arguments—specifically regarding withheld evidence and an unauthorized jury map—it set aside claims directly addressing his actual innocence.
That procedural technicality surfaced during a September 2026 hearing before Gasconade Circuit Judge Craig Hellmann. Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clarke argued that Helmig failed to establish actual innocence under the framework of that 2011 appellate decision. Now 70 years old and living on Social Security while painting decks and fishing at the Lake of the Ozarks, Helmig watches the legal battle drag on.
Meanwhile, the second compensation case is moving through the courts in St. Louis. Darryl Burton’s attorney, Burton Haigh, presented his client’s history during an initial hearing in early October. Burton was exonerated in 2008 after spending 24 years behind bars following a wrongful conviction in a 1984 fatal gas station shooting. Michael Spillane of the Attorney General’s Office indicated that the state would raise different arguments against Burton’s petition. Both sides are scheduled to present further arguments next year.
