$100 a Day Screening This Weekend

A documentary about an East Palo Alto man who spent more than a  decade in prison for a crime he didn't commit will be screened in Palo Alto  and Santa Cruz this week.
   
The movie "$100 a Day" is the story of Rick Walker, who was  convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Lisa Hopewell in 1991 but freed in  2003 after DNA evidence linked other suspects to the crime.
     
Following his release, Walker was found to be entitled to $421,000  -- $100 a day for the 12 years he spent in prison -- but he became caught up  in a legal struggle to obtain the money.
     
The movie tells of Walker's attempts to receive that compensation,  including how Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who was then serving in the  State Assembly, stepped in to modify the legislation that helped Walker  receive his money much sooner.
     
The movie will be shown today at Stanford Law School along with a  panel discussion, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Room 280B at 559 Nathan Abbott  Way, and at the Santa Cruz Police Department at 155 Center St. from 7 p.m. to  9 p.m. Thursday.
     
Both screenings are free and are open to the public.