When 43 year old bowling alley manager Ken Wyniemko ejected an off duty cop from his establishment for drunk and disorderly conduct, he didn't think it would lead to a wrongful conviction. On April 30th, 1994, a woman was blindfolded and raped by a masked man in her home in Clinton Township, Michigan. The composite sketch was deemed only 60% accurate, but nonetheless, was made available to the media. When Ken's disgruntled ex girlfriend reported that the sketch resembled him, investigators used this opportunity to exact revenge for the bowling alley manager's slight against their brother in blue. They manipulated the line up to produce an identification from the victim who had never clearly seen her attacker's face. With the help of incentivized jailhouse snitch testimony, the jury ignored the biological evidence that excluded Ken, sending him to serve 40-60 years. DNA evidence eventually led to his exoneration in 2003, and now, Ken devotes his time to lobbying for criminal justice reform legislation - some of which led to finding the actual rapist in his case.
If Ken is still fighting for justice, your voice matters. Consider sharing this case on social media, signing any active petitions, or contacting your representatives about wrongful conviction reform.
The Wrongful Conviction podcast, hosted by Jason Flom and Khaliah Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali), has featured over 500 cases of men and women who spent years — sometimes decades — in prison for crimes they did not commit. The podcast has been downloaded over 70 million times and has directly influenced exonerations, clemencies, and criminal justice reform legislation across the country.