An Indigenous man with cognitive impairment who spent nearly five years behind bars after being wrongly convicted in the manslaughter of Josh Warneke has been granted $1.5 million in compensation.
Western Australia Attorney-General John Quigley confirmed Gene Gibson would receive the payment after a flawed investigation into the 2010 incident lead to his conviction.
Mr Gibson, who is from the remote desert community of Kiwirrkurra and speaks little English, was sentenced in 2014 to seven-and-a-half years in jail over Mr Warneke's death.
Mr Warneke was found dead on the side of a road in Broome, Western Australia, after leaving a night club.
The conviction was set aside last year after Mr Gibson argued he didn't understand the court processes or instructions, and that he was advised to plead guilty to get a shorter sentence.
After walking free, Mr Gibson sought $2.5 million in compensation.
On Wednesday, Mr Quigley said WA would make a $1.5 million ex-gratia payment to Mr Gibson, of which $200,000 would be set aside to cover the management fees of the Public Trustee.
Mr Gibson's lawyer Michael Lundberg said his client was happy with the sum, which was large, but it did not prevent his client from pursuing private legal action.
"No amount of money is ever going to compensate Gene for the time he spent in jail for a crime he didn't commit," Mr Lundberg told reporters.
'When you don't even understand why you're imprisoned, the burden of innocence is an even heavier one. This money can't extinguish the wrong."
Mr Lundberg said his company would now give Mr Gibson advice about pursuing private legal action.
"It's a big step for anyone to think about suing the police or the state," he said.
"We're very much saying it's the next thing for Gene to consider."
Mr Quigley offered his apologies to Mr Gibson on behalf of the state, saying he endured terrible suffering.
Mr Gibson is keen to get his promising music career back on track.
"He's got a great voice. We need to talk to people who have some better ideas about what he can do," Mr Lundberg said.
Mr Gibson also hopes to see his first AFL game during a visit to Perth in coming weeks.
"We're going to communicate with the West Coast Eagles and see if we can get him some tickets," the lawyer said.
Earlier this month, the Corruption and Crime Commission revealed WA Police had not implemented two key recommendations about interacting with Aboriginal people stemming from the case.
Police are considering using the Northern Territory model for cautioning someone about their right to silence when English is not their first language.
That involves pre-recording the caution in a variety of Aboriginal languages and playing the correct dialect before an interview.
But the CCC says it may not be effective and little progress has been made with the proposal.
Mr Quigley, however, believes police have taken a positive step.
Police are still searching for Mr Warneke's killer.
