Ken Wyneimko : 10 Years in Prison
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Ken Wyniemko is the "Million Dollar Man". It is a title that Ken would like to forget. Wyniemko was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of a prisoner informant. |
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The informant later admitted he lied in court to escape life in prison. Ken spent almost a decade in jail, until he contacted the Innocence Project at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, MI. Twenty years ago, DNA was not common. Even though the testing at trial excluded Ken, the victim identified him as her attacker. Ironically, it was blood testing that helped free Ken.
"The fact that probable cause to arrest may have existed ... does not mean that the (detectives) could bury their heads in the sand when significant events occurred that would call that probable cause into question," - U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff. Police failed to disclose to the jury and prosecutors that a witness may have lied and a detective buried evidence. This ignored evidence just might have changed the outcome of the Wyniemko trial. There was also evidence that suggested witnesses were coached, conflicting leads were ignored, and justice was forsaken for a conviction.
Why Ken? Ken was being held on unrelated misdemeanor charges. The victim assisted the police with creating a composite sketch. On July 14, 1994, Police informed Ken that he resembled the composite sketch. As a result, Wyniemko was placed in a lineup and the victim identified him as the perpetrator. Ken, now 55 years old has since been released from prison. His DNA did not match the DNA found on a cigarette butt or semen stained nylons that belonged to the victim. As with others who were wrongfully convicted of a horrendous crime, Ken tries to catch up with his life that prison took away. He missed his father’s funeral. He missed the birth of his two grandchildren. “My dad and myself have a lot of catching up to do.” – Ken Wyniemko
Ken Wyniemko’s fate was attributed to POLICE OFFICER MISCONDUCT, and POLICE OFFICER TUNNEL VISION.
At times when police and prosecutors are under political pressure to apprehend and imprison criminals, the public demands some type of action. When police agencies feel the pressure to solve a case and/or develop a “win at any cost” attitude, innocent people go to prison. Even after an exoneree has been released from prison, the jail within our own free society keeps him or her locked up. Ken has no job. He was released with little money after spending hundreds of thousands to prove his innocence. The Michigan Department of Corrections lists Ken as “Discharged”, a status that does not indicate that he was found innocent of all charges. It merely indicates the completion of his sentence.
Today, Ken can be found catching up on the things that he missed in prison; his friends, the softball team and the hockey team. As for the “Million Dollar Man” title, unfortunately he lived up to that. A Clinton Township Police Detective gave Ken that title and told him it would take Ken one million dollars to straighten his life out after he was done with him. The detective was right.
