Massachusetts man granted over half a million dollars for wrongful conviction

Paul Corteau spent 13 years in prison for a crime he didn't do.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – A Massachusetts man wrongfully convicted for an armed robbery 40 years ago in North Providence has been compensated over half a million dollars under a new Rhode Island law.

Paul Corteau spent 13 years in prison for a crime he didn’t do. In 1981, he was wrongfully convicted for robbing a jewelry store. He was released on parole in 1994.

The law was signed last year by Governor Dan McKee. It allows anyone who was wrongfully sentenced to prison for more than a year to petition the Rhode Island Superior Court for damages.

An award of $50,000 for each year served will be granted. On Thursday, Corteau was granted $558,000- as the first person to receive compensation under this new law.

Corteau’s innocence was not considered years after he was released. In 1997, a Massachusetts man was charged with robberies and murders over a seven year period. In part of an agreement with prosecutors, he disclosed details from the crimes, where he then admitted to the 1980 robbery in North Providence Corteau was convicted of.

Corteau, now 64, says he is looking forward to putting this chapter behind him.