Rick Walker imprisonment film premieres

The story of Rick Walker, an East Palo Alto man who spent 12 years in prison on false murder charges, is chronicled in a new documentary that premiered Wednesday night at Santa Clara University.

The film, titled “$100 a Day,” details Walker’s struggle to get exonerated and to get the $100 he was entitled to receive for every day he spent wrongly imprisoned.

Wednesday’s screening, sponsored by the Commonwealth Club of California and the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University, was followed by a panel discussion.

Speakers included Walker, attorney Alison Tucher, who helped get Walker exonerated, and Jim Sanders, writer for the Sacramento Bee who covered Walker’s battle to get the money owed to him by the state.

State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) ultimately helped Walker collect $400,000 from the state. Walker received an additional $2.75 million as a result of a lawsuit against Santa Clara County.