I cannot fathom what this man went through as he lost his youth.
http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-122...,4234722.story
Milwaukee man wrongfully jailed to get $25,000 for 23 years in jail
MILWAUKEE (AP) —
A Milwaukee man who spent 23 years in prison for a homicide he didn't commit will receive $25,000 in compensation from the Wisconsin Claims Board, his attorney said Tuesday.
The board also will ask the state Legislature to approve another $90,000 for Robert Lee Stinson.
"We're very happy," said Stinson's attorney, Heather Lewis Donnell. "This is the best that could have happened given the board's authority."
Stinson asked the Claims Board this month for $115,000, or $5,000 for every year he spent behind bars. State law allows for a maximum of $5,000 per year up to $25,000 but the board can choose to ask the Legislature for more.
The three-person board, which voted unanimously in Stinson's favor, said it didn't think $25,000 was adequate in this case.
Stinson, 46, said he hasn't been able to find work and the money will be his first income in the nearly two years since he was released from prison.
"I'm very grateful we got this outcome," he said Tuesday. "This $25,000 is the first step toward readjusting toward society."
He said he plans to use the money for a vehicle and tuition. He starts a criminal-justice program Monday and said he hopes to use what he learns to prevent other innocent people from going to jail.
Stimson said he wasn't concerned about going back to school at his age.
"School is a place where you get an education," he said. "I don't think anyone of any age should be embarrassed about going to school."
Donnell said it wasn't clear how long it would take for the Legislature to take up the Claims Board's request.
Stinson was 21 when he was convicted in the 1984 slaying of a 63-year-old Milwaukee woman. Her nearly naked body was found bloody, beaten and covered in human bite marks.
Police canvassing the area the next morning arrested Stinson because they said he couldn't adequately explain his whereabouts the night before.
A forensic dentist inexplicably determined that Stinson's bite matched those on the victim. The testimony ignored the fact that Stinson was missing a tooth where the bite marks indicated a tooth should have been, and he had an intact one where the perpetrator didn't.
The Wisconsin Innocence Project, which works to clear wrongly convicted inmates, convinced a judge to overturn Stinson's conviction in 2008. The group raised questions about the bite-mark testimony and provided new tests showing DNA from saliva on the victim's sweater didn't match Stinson's.
Stinson, who always maintained his innocence, said he was angry for years about his conviction.
"You become very angry but you don't want to react because if you do there would be consequences," he told AP earlier this month. "You don't want to jeopardize the opportunity of getting out. So it's just something you have to endure."
His family's unwavering support helped him maintain his sanity. He also learned to let go of his anger rather than let it consume him. Bitterness, he said, only gets in the way of enjoying life.
He has struggled to adjust to life as a free man. He had trouble being in crowds. He suffered through an early spell of nightmares. And even though he applied for every janitorial and kitchen job he could find, he wasn't offered a single interview.
His childhood sweetheart helped him get past the early challenges, he said. She contacted him soon after his release, and they rekindled their romance. They're now engaged.
Stinson said he hoped legislators would approve the additional $90,000, noting that $115,000 isn't enough to compensate a man for losing his youth behind bars but it would help him rebuild his life.
Would he use any of the compensation for a party? Stinson paused.
"I have to see about that. The major things come first, like a car and tuition," he said Tuesday.
A honeymoon? He laughed softly.
"I may try to fit that in," he said. "I want to keep that a secret."
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Originally Posted by chiak47
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