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The Pennsylvania native -- once called the "snaggletooth killer" -- was exonerated in 2002 by DNA evidence.

A comparison of his teeth to a bite mark on the victim was part of the evidence that convicted Krone of the 1991 slaying of Phoenix cocktail waitress Kim Ancona. DNA testing wasn't widely available when Krone was prosecuted, but it later excluded him as the killer and matched evidence with a man in prison on an unrelated sex charge.

People who are wrongfully incarcerated "deserve more than a shrug of the shoulders, an 'oops' and bus fare back home," said state Rep. Mike McGeehan, D-Philadelphia. McGeehan is sponsoring legislation that would provide compensation to people who wrongfully served time in Pennsylvania prisons and are exonerated by a court.

McGeehan's bill calls for paying people the equivalent of their lost wages or a legislator's $129 a day in expense money, whichever is higher. His bill would also provide an additional $50,000 a year to former inmates who served time on death row.

McGeehan plans to introduce the bill no later than Monday.

Attorney General Tom Corbett says such cases are rare in Pennsylvania and remedies are available through lawsuits.

"Overall, we are not supportive of the legislation," Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley said. "It's a solution in search of a problem."

While there are many circumstances that could exonerate a wrongly convicted inmate, such as another person's confession or newly discovered evidence, the advent of DNA testing in the past decade has become a powerful tool for proving a person's innocence. And the overturned cases are bringing the issue of compensation to the forefront.

A study last year by a University of Michigan law school professor of exonerations from 1989 to 2003 found 328 people across the country were cleared of crimes they did not commit. The study, which says its numbers are conservative, found 145 of those were cleared by DNA.

The rate of exonerations increased sharply over the 15-year period -- from 12 a year during the early 1990s to an average of 43 a year after 2000. From 1999 on, more than half of exonerations were because of DNA evidence.

Most states do not compensate inmates cleared of crimes. Nineteen states and the federal government have compensation laws, according to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic and criminal justice-reform group in New York City.

The Innocence Project Web page lists seven Pennsylvanians -- none from Western Pennsylvania -- exonerated after convictions as a result of DNA evidence.

Some exonerated convicts seek redress in the courts. Krone, of Dover, York County, earlier this month received a $1.2 million settlement from the county in Arizona that convicted him. He says more than half of that is needed to cover his legal bills. He has a suit pending against the city of Phoenix.

McGeehan's bill precludes inmates awarded compensation from the state from suing the state or counties.

With his legal nightmare occurring in Arizona, Krone would not have been able to benefit under the McGeehan bill.

Krone, 48, said he's still angry that officials responsible for his false conviction were not held accountable. "I can't let it (anger) control me. I was victimized. I don't want to feel like a victim. I'm a survivor. I'll move on."

Vincent Moto, of Philadelphia, who in 1996 was exonerated by DNA evidence, hasn't received a dime in compensation.

Moto was cleared of a rape and robbery that occurred in 1985 in Philadelphia.

"Despite having served 10 years for a crime he did not commit, Vincent has received nothing for his lost decade," McGeehan said.

Moto and Krone appeared with McGeehan at a news conference last week where six lawmakers stood with him to tout the bill. McGeehan now has 17 co-sponsors, including one Republican, Rep. Bob Bastian, of Somerset.

It's a revised version of a bill that McGeehan introduced in the 2003-04 session that never saw the light of day.

"The yahoos in the House who want to lock 'em up and throw away the key (should say) this is just as important," McGeehan said.

Republican insiders in the House and Senate say there's no real opposition. It's just not a priority. The released inmates do not have much of a lobbying voice.

When asked about it, top officials say it's a good idea.

"I think they should be compensated," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery County. "I don't know how much."

Possible base payments

Here's what seven Pennsylvanians exonerated by DNA evidence would be paid if the compensation bill to be introduced Monday in the House becomes law.

The Tribune-Review's calculations are based on the bill's language providing for compensation of $129 per day -- the same amount paid to legislators in daily expense money while on state business. The bill calls for compensation at the per diem rate, or the former inmate's lost daily wages, whichever is higher. There was no way for the Trib to determine lost wages.

The actual amount these exonerated convicts would receive might be based on five business days per week or seven days per week, whichever the General Assembly decides. The information on the convictions and exonerations was compiled by the Innocence Project, a New York City-based legal clinic.

The following list shows a range of possible base payments for Pennsylvanians exonerated of crimes under the House bill. Several also would be eligible for $50,000 per year for time spent on death row.

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