The crucial testimony used to convict Douglass Haynie started with a lie.

In 1993, Haynie was found guilty in Worcester County Circuit Court of felony murder and related crimes in the deadly shooting of Anthony Cannon in Snow Hill. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 20 years.

But the firearms and toolmarks examiner for the Maryland State Police who testified at the trial, Joseph Kopera, falsified his credentials and offered opinions that are no longer admissible in court.

His fraud did not come to light until 2007. Police discovered in 2019 that Kopera had also forged the initials of one of his colleagues.

Based on that new information, Haynie asked a judge to overturn his convictions, arguing there was a substantial possibility that a jury would have acquitted him but for the false testimony.

Prosecutors described the ballistics testimony as the keystone of their case against Haynie and concluded that ethics and justice required them to drop the charges. He was released in 2025 after serving about 32 years in prison.

Haynie, now 62, of Baltimore, then sought compensation under the Walter Lomax Act, which established a standard process for how the state pays people who’ve been wrongfully convicted of crimes.

Worcester County State’s Attorney Kristin Heiser took no position on Haynie’s request. But the Worcester County commissioners hired outside attorneys, for $100 to $480 per hour, who are contesting almost every aspect of the petition — including his innocence.

The state used to be solely responsible for compensating people who were wrongfully convicted. A provision included in one of the budget bills in 2025 requires counties to now cover half of any amount — even though state’s attorneys are independent elected officials.

The change in the law has upended Haynie’s case and created concerns that counties will try to push back against having to pay in others.

“The idea that I am going to have to fight, yet again, to prove my innocence is diabolical — it will require me to relive a part of my past that has done unimaginable damage to me that cannot ever be undone and cause me even more harm,” Haynie said in a statement released through his attorney. “I am just trying to get back to living life, enjoying life, and participating in life with what time I have left.”

His attorney, Kristen Mack, described the modification to the law as “catastrophic for these cases.”

The burden of proof is already high under the Walter Lomax Act, Mack said.

The purpose of the law, she said, is to right a wrong. But Mack said she’s concerned cases will play out like personal injury lawsuits because counties now have a financial incentive to fight these petitions.

“Any personal injury attorney will tell you they almost always fight legitimate claims, because what do they have to lose?” Mack said. “If there’s any chance they can fight it, they’re going to, even if the liability is really clear.”

Administrative Law Judge Susan Sinrod allowed the Worcester County commissioners to intervene, ruling that they had a financial interest that others weren’t adequately representing in the case.

Haynie has moved in Baltimore Circuit Court to challenge that decision. A hearing has not been scheduled.

He’s only seeking compensation for about 12 years that he spent in prison. That’s because he served 20 years for an unrelated armed robbery, which he also maintains he did not commit.

Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, represented Haynie as he sought to overturn his convictions.

Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue said her office understands that the state is facing budget constraints, but “we cannot lose sight of those impacted by wrongful convictions.”

“Compensation cannot restore what was taken, but it acknowledges Maryland’s failure and provides the basic means these individuals need to survive,” Dartigue said in a statement. “A society that can imprison the innocent must be willing to support them upon release — this is a moral imperative that transcends any budget cycle.”

In a statement, Kim Moses, a spokesperson for Worcester County, said awards under the Walter Lomax Act can exceed $1 million.

The county, she said, must now budget for these payments instead of setting that money aside for other priorities such as education and public safety.

Moses said the county intervened to make sure the interests of its taxpayers are protected. That’s along with guaranteeing the requirements of the law are satisfied.

Legislative staff members devise a variety of policy options that can save the state money in tough times, said Michael Sanderson, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties.

Lawmakers in 2021 considered requiring counties to pay half of any compensation for people who’ve been wrongfully convicted, but they did not move forward with the measure.

The proposal resurfaced in 2025 in the House Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee during a budget hearing.

“Obviously, fiscal situations changed,” Andrew Gray, a budget analyst in the Maryland Department of Legislative Services, told legislators. “Consider it again.”

But Sanderson said he was surprised that lawmakers accepted the suggestion.

“Sometimes, in a tough budget environment, you have to do things that are expeditious, even if they’re not good policy,” he said. “And that’s what feels like happened here.”

Counties are not involved in prosecutions, he said, and it’s difficult for them to “suddenly have to come up with a bag of cash.”

“If this is about accountability, it’s getting the accountability wrong,” Sanderson said. “The state’s attorney — the constitutional officer responsible for prosecuting crimes in Maryland — is directly elected by the voters.”

Sanderson said he’s hopeful that lawmakers will introduce a bill so there can be a public hearing on the issue.