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State Signs Papers To Pay Crotzer For Time In Prison

Tribune photo by COLIN HACKLEY

Alan Crotzer, left, is joined by his wife Quebella after he signed the documents that will compensate him for nearly 25 years of wrongful incarceration, Tuesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE and COLIN HACKLEY of The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 6, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Alex Sink, Florida's chief financial officer, signed the final paperwork today needed to pay Alan Crotzer $1.25 million for his wrongful imprisonment.

Crotzer spent 24 1/2 years in prison for crimes he didn't commit.

Until recently, he had been working for a nursery in Tallahassee. But at the signing today, Crotzer said he left that job and plans to go back to school.

Crotzer said he also hopes to find work in the juvenile justice field so he can help children and try to make a difference in their lives.

He also said he plans to lobby on behalf of other people who are wrongly incarcerated.

"I'm not the only one," he said of innocent people who have been convicted.

In 1981, three armed men robbed the occupants of a Tampa apartment and raped two of them, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl. The woman identified Crotzer from a mug shot – he had been arrested as a teenager on a minor theft charge – and he was charged with kidnapping, robbery and rape.

In 1982, when he was 20, Crotzer was sentenced to 130 years in prison.

Crotzer maintained his innocence. He said he was with his girlfriend during the attack and didn't know the other suspects.

The Innocence Project took up his cause, and he was exonerated and released in 2006 after DNA evidence showed he could not have committed the crimes.

The state Legislature passed a bill this session awarding him $1.25 million, and the governor has signed it.

Under an annuity, Crotzer, who is married and has two children, will receive an initial payment of $250,000.

He also will receive $6,700 per month for 20 years.

By receiving the money this way, Crotzer won't have to pay taxes on the $1.25 million, an attorney for Sink said today.

Crotzer said he might use part of the money to buy a house.

"The compensation provided by the State of Florida today is no match for the pain caused during Alan's 24 years of wrongful imprisonment," Sink says in a written statement. "However, I thank the Florida Legislature for appropriating these funds in order to restore some sense of justice in Mr. Crotzer's life."

Crotzer's compensation begins June 1.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691. Photographer Colin Hackley can be reached at chackley@tampatrib.com or (850) 222-8382.

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