![Prison cell shown](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2023/03/n21153167/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1678124374189.jpg)
USA Today: He earned a full ride to college. He spent 15 years wrongly imprisoned instead.
Ohio Innocence Project exoneree Michael Sutton speaks about wrongful conviction
Michael Sutton is trying to rebuild his life.
He shares his journey of wrongful conviction speaking at churches and mentoring at schools. Sutton is now 33, but he was a high school senior living in Cleveland and looking forward to graduation when his life changed.
Sutton, now 33, spent 15 years in prison for a crime he had nothing to do with. He was freed thanks to the work of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati. Sutton told his story to listeners and journalists at the University of Akron.
Sutton went out with friends on Memorial Day weekend in 2006 for a night of fun when on their way back home they got stuck in traffic.They witnessed someone in a gold-colored car in front of them lean out and fire at another vehicle. Two people suffered injuries. Police arrested Sutton and his friends and they were charged with multiple counts including attempted murder and assault.
Kenneth Phillips and Michael Sutton shown. Photo/provided.
The Akron Beacon Journal and USA Today reported Sutton’s recollection of what happened that night and after. It was ironic that Sutton was visiting a campus he had earned the right to be on so many years earlier. He had been offered a full-ride to the University of Akron as a high school senior but his wrongful conviction shattered that dream.
Donald Caster, a professor in the UC College of Law, led a team of Ohio Innocence Project attorneys who initially re-examined the case involving Sutton. A co-defendant, Kenneth Phillips was represented by the Wrongful Conviction Project (WCP) at the Ohio Public Defender Commission.
Sutton’s conviction rested on testimony from two police officers on the scene.Years later, this testimony was called into question after lawyers discovered the officers initially told prosecutors a different version of events that was never presented during trial. Both Sutton and Phillips were released from prison in May 2021.
Pierce Reed, director of policy and engagement for the Ohio Innocence Project at UC Law, told The Akron Beacon Journal that Sutton’s journey, while incredibly unfair, is far from unique and is a special concern in Ohio, which still allows the death penalty.
“Innocent people can get executed,” Reed told journalists. “This disproportionately affects people of color. In Ohio, we average one or two people a year who are exonerated. Our youngest client was 16, who was tried as an adult.”
Learn more about the Ohio Innocence Project online.
Featured image of a prison cell courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
Niche: UC bests its rivals, offering the ‘best college location in Ohio’
September 8, 2022
The college ranking and review service Niche released its 2023 college rankings and gave UC the top spot in the ‘Best college locations in Ohio’ category.
The Crosstown Foodout: Two Queen City rivals duke it out to support college food pantries
December 8, 2022
The Crosstown Foodout allows fans of the Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers to compete by supporting a campus food pantry at each school.
Cincinnati Business Courier: Opera, book, film cast light on UC's Ohio Innocence Project
February 8, 2021
A book, opera and film are all helping to shed light on the work done by the Ohio Innocence Project at UC Law. Outside of Cincinnati, the OIP is fast becoming a model for innocence projects around the world.
Vox: How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation
February 17, 2021
Cincinnati Law dean Verna Williams discusses the implications of educational segregation on Black students and students of color.
The Atlantic: The breathtaking ingenuity of incarcerated artists
February 9, 2021
Gillispie was freed thanks to UC's Ohio Innocence Project in December 2011 after serving 20 years in prison for rapes he did not do.
UC Law alumnus, law library namesake remembered as DAV celebrates 100 years
November 30, 2020
University of Cincinnati College of Law alumnus Judge Robert S. Marx was pivotal in launching the Disabled Veterans of America organization, which celebrates 100 years this year. The UC Law Library is named after Marx.
U.S. News & World Report: Cleveland pays $4.85 million to OIP exoneree to settle wrongful conviction
December 2, 2020
The city of Cleveland will pay a man who was wrongfully convicted of aggravated murder and spent 11 years in prison before he was freed with the help of the Ohio Innocence Project $4.85 million to settle a lawsuit he filed against two city homicide detectives, reports U.S. News & World Report.
Crain's Cleveland Business: UC Law outperforms state average for summer, fall bar passage rates
December 7, 2020
University of Cincinnati College of Law graduates who took the summer and fall bar exam in Ohio outperformed the state average, reports Crain’s Cleveland Business.
OIP assisting Ohio man convicted of robbery in bid to clear name
November 30, 2020
Despite being released from prison on parole for robbery, David Rawls is determined to clear his name. The Ohio Innocence Project is assisting him in his effort.
UC OIP forum address systemic racism, wrongful convictions in judicial system
November 30, 2020
Ohio Court News covers a recent forum by the UC Ohio Innocence Project covering issues of racial fairness and wrongful convictions.