Hampton man to receive state compensation for wrongful conviction

A bill approved by state legislators last week will compensate a Hampton man for seven years he spent in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Teddy Pierries Thompson maintained his innocence in a 2000 robbery, but was convicted after being identified by one of two victims, according to the bill which passed the General Assembly. Thompson was 17 at the time of his arrest.

Thompson said he had rented time at a Virginia Beach recording studio the night of the robbery and produced a receipt in court. The other robbery victim testified at a pretrial hearing that Thompson was not the man who robbed him.

Thompson was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He continued to fight the conviction in court.

In 2007, a Hampton judge vacated Thompson’s conviction because the witness who identified him said he’d made a mistake, according to the bill.

Thompson will receive more than $50,000 in a lump sum, plus an annuity of more than $207,000 to be paid monthly to him for 25 years. He also will receive up to $10,000 in tuition costs for college or technical training.

Thompson will receive the money after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signs the bill.

Staff writer Julian Walker contributed to this report.