SALISBURY, MD - Wicomico County is set to become the first Maryland county required to split payment in a wrongful incarceration settlement with the state now that a Salisbury man has been exonerated.
Tavon Tull
Tavon Tull was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of rape in 2019 in Wicomico County. Tull appealed the conviction, but served 6 years behind bars while maintaining he was innocent. His first appeal was unsuccessful. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, however, the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) of the Wicomico County State’s Attorney agreed to review the case in 2024.
Following closer analysis of medical records and interviews with experts, the state agreed that Tull’s conviction should be vacated and his charges dismissed, according to the Exoneration Registry. On November 14, 2024, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Matthew A. Maciarello granted a motion to vacate, and the state dismissed the charges against Tull.
Wrongful Conviction Compensation
According to Maryland law, the Board of Public Works is tasked with compensating wrongfully convicted individuals based on how long the person was kept behind bars. Paying that compensation has historically been a state-level expense.
On May 20, 2025, however, Governor Wes Moore signed the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 into law. Within that bill is a provision to split the cost of wrongful conviction payments equally between the state and the counties, effective July 1, 2025.
That new policy drew the ire of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO).
“Maryland counties already face steep fiscal challenges, including rising education mandates, constrained revenue authority, and unpredictable cost shifts from the State,” MACO’s website reads. “The BRFA added another unfair and unsustainable burden.”
MACO goes on to argue that the new cost share policy provides for no local oversight and leaves counties financially exposed to costs they couldn’t see coming or budget for.
BPW Approves Tull’s Payment
On August 6, Tavon Tull became the first person to be awarded a wrongful conviction payment under the new cost sharing plan. The Board of Public Works voted unanimously on Wednesday to award $573,412.35 to Tull for his six years of wrongful incarceration. Tull was present in Annapolis for the vote.
“I want to say on behalf of Governor Wes Moore, myself, and this board, and the people of Maryland, there are no words to express how deeply sorry I am for what was taken from you,” Lt. Governor Aruna Miller said Wednesday, addressing Tull. “While no repayment amount can undo the injustice or make up what was taken from you, I hope today’s action by this board provides meaningful support for this next chapter in your life.”
Wicomico’s Share
Under the new Maryland policy, Wicomico County, where Tull was convicted, may now have to foot half of that $573,412.35 - an expense of over $280,000.
WBOC spoke with Wicomico County Council President John Cannon on Wednesday about Wicomico becoming the first to shoulder half of a wrongful conviction settlement. Cannon said one of his concerns was that the County had no way of knowing how many more of the cases could follow.
“Wicomico County is not listed as a rich county,” Cannon said. “We get a disparity grant as a matter of fact because they categorize us a poor county. Then to impose these types of penalties on us as well, it makes it very difficult for us, I think, to be as financially stable as we’d like to be.”
Cannon tells WBOC that Wicomico County plans to work with the State’s Attorney and MACO to to pressure the Governor’s office to amend or reverse the new cost share policy.
Whether that pressure is successful remains to be seen. It is also currently unclear how quickly Wicomico may be required to release settlement funds to Tull or what that process may look like.