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this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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When you did your calculations did you factor in the change in minimum wage and inflation? I'm sure the state owes him more than $500k.
I didn't factor in inflation as I was trying to keep it quick and simple. I also didn't factor in any interest he might have received from a bank account. This was purely "he works minimum wage and stuffs all the cash he gets into a big jar - how much does he have after 50 years."
I was also using the federal minimum wage. Obviously, many states have higher minimum wages so he might have made more than the federal minimum wage had he been free to move to another state.
Of course, the $500,000 figure only accounts for money that he would have made. It doesn't include all the suffering he had to endure or the fact that the state basically ended his life at 21. He didn't get to live his life and his future life is going to be rough. Not only does he need to adjust to life out of prison, but he likely has nothing. It's not like many places are rushing to hire a 71 year old with no job experience for the last 50 years because they were in prison. The money he gets should at least be enough for him to comfortably retire.
This man likely does not have children or any close family left. He's probably very alone out here and I'd argue that he was better off in prison, as sad as it sounds. In prison he would have had a carr to look after him, guards that (on paper) have to keep him safe, three meals a day, and a life he's already used to. He literally has no experience on living on the outside as an adult and like no support system.