Calling All You Angels: The Ken Wyniemko Story

At the young age of 18, I can tell you that this is the most important story I'll ever write. And it may just be the most important one you ever read.

This story is unlike any I've written so. It's not about the bizzarre, nor is it satirical. This is story about dirty cops, shady prosecutors, corrupt judges and most of all, exoneration. This is the story of a man who was convicted of a crime he did not commit, a crime that have never event occurred. This may seem like fiction, but the best Hollywood writer couldn't make it up. It's all real.

It all began in 1994, when a woman reported to the police that a masked man had broken into her home, blind-folded her, and brutally raped her for three hours. She was rushed to the hospital and treated.

Though she insisted that she never saw his face, the police somehow convinced her to help them make a composite sketch.

It is important to note that the victim estimated that her attacker was 6'1", 230 pounds and in his 30's. I met Mr. Wyniemko recently. No one with common since would ever say he fit that description. The height alone would exclude him.

Still, they made a composite and released it. Weeks later, an anonymous call pointed the police to Mr. Wyniemko.

They went to his home and arrested him. They took him to the station and put him in a lineup. And here is where this tale gets very disturbing, because the police refused to let him exercise his constitutional right and call an lawyer. Their excuse? They already had their lawyer there and that he could talk to him after being in the line up. He argued you a bit more, but eventually, he agreed to be in the lineup.

Afterwards, he went to talk to the lawyer, but was informed that he had already left the building. The lead detectives smirked when they told him this, as if the corruption of the system was a joke. Mr. Wyniemko then called his father (God rest him), who came to drive him home. When they got there, they were confronted by a police officer who prevented him from entering his own home on the grounds that they were waiting for a search warrant.

So Mr. Wyniemko went to his parents' house for a while, and when he came back, he found his home trashed. The cops had gone so far as to break the jars in his refrigerator.

A few days later, Mr. Wyniemko was arrested outside of his home. At the scene, the lead detective was quoted to say, "I'm going to call you the Million Dollar Man...because when I get through [expletive]ing with you, it's going to take a million dollars to get you out of prison."

The constitution of this country guarantees every defendant the right to a attorney. Sadly, court-appointed counsel is often...insufficient. This was the case with Mr. Wyniemko rightly complained to the judge and asked for a new attorney or he would represent himself. This was on a Friday. They were scheduled to start choosing a jury the following Monday. The judge agreed to give appoint a new attorney, but refused to push back the trial date. Ever try to put together adequate defense over a weekend? I can't say that I have either, but I can promise you, it is by no means enough time.

The evidence against Mr. Wyniemko was unremarkable. Just a women who never saw him, a handful of clothing samples that tested negative for his DNA and a jail house snitch who was getting the "deal of the century" for testifying. Not even nearly enough to convict him. But convict he was. The judge even broke precedent and gave him a longer sentence because he failed to show remorse. Some shocking things about the trial would come to light later, but I'll come back to that.

Mr. Wyniemko never knew much about the law before his trial, but with a long jail sentence, he had plenty of time to study. And study, he did. He went over every bit of his trial, trying to find grounds for appeal. He also did two things other thing.

1) He wrote to the Detroit Free Press, and got a reporter curious enough about his case to look for answers.

2) On the advice of a friend, he contacted the Innocence Project. Back in those days, the Innocence Project was still fairly young. It originated out of a law sch00l, as a way to exonerate the falsely convicted using DNA testing.

Problem: they had used DNA testing at Mr. Wyniemko's trial and it had exonerated him. He didn't fulfill the Innocence Project's requirements. However, they were able to prove that were pieces of evidence that had not been tested. After nearly a decade in prison, Mr. Wyniemko would finally have another chance at justice.

Remember when I said above that there were things about the first trial that were disturbing? Well here they are:

1) The pieces of evidence that weren't tested? The lead detective had specifically asked that they not be tested?

2) The prosecuting attorney? She conspired with the police to convict him and withheld evidence.

3) The jury? Their original vote was 10 to 2. In favor of acquittal. That was before the judge came to talk to him while they were deliberating. He told them that he personally believed Mr. Wyniekmo to be guilty. Then, he changed the foreman. Note: this is not permitted in the American justice system.

4) There is reasonable doubt as whether the rape actually happened. Initial investigations suspected that the rapist had a police background, because the scene was cleaned up. It was later revealed that women was having an affair with a polic officer at the time. Also, no pictures of the injuries she reported (she claimed her wrists were severely swollen.), nor has any doctor or nurse come forward to confirm her story. (Do not misunderstand me. Rape is a horrible thing and no one should ever have to go through it. If she was raped, the real rapist should be caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law. But if she lied, and caused an innocent man to lose ten years of his life, she should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.)

5) And this one is the worst. The jail house snitch? He never met Mr. Wyniemko in his life. He had never even heard of him until the lead detective and the prosecuting attorney told him that he would testify against him, or "he would never see the light of day." Note: this was the second person they approached for the purpose of perjury.

As could be expected, Mr. Wyniemko was released. But aside from 3.9 million dollars he won in a civil suit, he received no justice. The three detective and the prosecuting attorney who were responsible for convicting him? The received no punishment. Quite the reverse. It was the classic Frank Burns scenario. The three detectives were all promoted just after this all came to light. The prosecuting attorney was appointed as a judge by Michigan Governor Engler. She sits on the bench to this very day. The only satisfaction that Mr. Wyniemko gets is the knowledge that federal government is investigating the lead detective.

As for Mr. Wyniemko? He's still out there. He travels around, talking to people about his story and fighting for justice to all those still wrongly imprisoned.

I feel sick to my stomach every time I think about what happened to him. And I'll bet you're feeling a little nauseated yourself. And, I hope, you want to something to help. You can:

1) Visit http://innocenceproject.org/ for more information.

The next few only apply to people who hail from Michigan and can write their congressmen:

2) Tell your representative to vote in favor of House Bill 4922. HB 4922 will change line up procedures. Currently police use simultaneous lineups, meaning a witness views every suspect at once and makes a judgment of who the perpetrator is. HB 4922 will make police use sequential lineups, meaning the witness will see suspects one at time and have to make a judgment about each an everyone. This has been proven to dramatically reduce false identifications, which caused 75% of the 209 exonerated convicts to be convicted.

3) Tell your representative to vote in favor of House Bill 5089. HB 5089 will extend the deadline for filing DNA exoneration cases until 2009.

4) Tell your representative to vote in favor of House Bill 4250. HB 4250 will provide compensation for exonerated convicts.

5) Tell your representative to vote in favor of House Bill 4909. HB 4909 will require certain interrogations to be recording and will revise the procedures for determining the admissibly of evidence.

Now for those of you who don't happen to hail from Michigan:

6) Tell your representative to do these things anyway!

I'll end this post with this: For the past two-plus weeks, I've been writing for this blog. Nothing important, nothing earth-shattering. Just whatever happens to interest me on any particular day. I can do this because I have never committed a crime and my rights have not been taken away. I am a free man. And, you're probably free, too. And as free men and women, it is our duty to ensure that every innocent person has the same freedoms we do.

A recent study by the FBI estimates that 10% of the inmates in America's prisons are innocent. That's approximately 2.2 million people. My estimates say that that is approximately 2.2 million to many.

So tomorrow, I'll probably go back to my random postings. But I won't allow myself to fall back into complacency. I hereby vow to do everything in my power to support and fight for the Innocence Project.

A final thought: if innocent are allowed to be imprisoned without question, one day it may very well be you or me who are imprisoned. So good night, everyone, and, now more than ever, good luck.

The Night Stalker

PS. It might interest you to know that today's title comes from Train's song "Calling All Angels".