LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A group of people who spent years in prison for crimes they didn't commit went before Kentucky lawmakers Thursday, fighting for the state of pay for their injustice.

Micheal Vonallmen, Johnetta Carr and Edwin Chandler have each proven their innocence. Combined, they were sentenced to 85 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit. 

The three of them all spoke in Frankfort on Thursday before a Joint Committee on Judiciary in support of House Bill 178, which would create a wrongful conviction compensation fund.

"This is maddening," said Vonallmen, who was mistakenly identified as a wanted rapist.

At 16-years-old, Carr was accused of murdering her boyfriend.

"The state wrongfully convicting me," she said. "Could have killed me."

And Chandler was wrongly arrested in 1995 for robbing and killing a gas station clerk.

"I've suffered a lot," said Chandler, who, more than a decade ago, was paid $8.5 million by the city of Louisville in a settlement.

When each of them got out of prison, there was no help from the state to get back on their feet. 

"Every night, I would pray to God I wouldn't wake up in the morning," Carr told lawmakers. "And I attempted suicide multiple times."

She said it was nearly impossible to get a job as a convicted felon — even once proven innocent. 

"I'd go to the plasma center and donate plasma," Carr said.

Chandler echoed her testimony.

"It was hard for me to take care of my family," he said.

Kentucky is one of 13 states that doesn't compensate people wrongfully convicted. During the last legislative session, House Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, proposed a bill to pay exonerees $65,000 for each year they were behind bars.

"If they can prove actual innocence ... then we should give them some compensation to get back on their feet," Nemes said.

The bill stalled in committees and never passed. 

"This legislative process is like watching molasses coming out of a bottle," Vonallmen said.

The meeting Thursday brought stakeholders to the joint committee to review bills that didn’t pass last session. While most lawmakers appeared to support the bill, there were questions about funding. It would cos, at most, $12 million.

While exonerees are desperate for the bill to pass, nothing can replace the missed memories.

"Money cannot make up for lost time, but it's a step in the right direction," Carr said.

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