Deliberate Injustice, The Wrongful Conviction of Ken Wyniemko

Synopsis

In 1994, Kenny received a forty-year sentence for the brutal rape of a Clinton Township, Michigan, woman, a death sentence for a 43-year-old man. His life became a series of battles. He fought to survive Jackson Prison, one of Michigan's most notorious prison facilities. He fought to gain his freedom. And, after his release, he dedicated his life in the fight for the wrongfully convicted.

In 2003, with the help of the Innocence Project of Michigan, Kenny was released after a DNA test excluded him from the crime scene and detected the presence of an "unknown donor." That same DNA sample was used to identify the actual rapist five years after Kenny's release.

In 2004, Kenny's civil suit exposed the actions of a system that "conspired to convict an innocent man," making Kenny's case "one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice" ever.

Today, Kenny has become one of the most visible and respected advocates for the wrongfully convicted. Macomb County (MI) Circuit Court Judge Carl Marlinga, the lead prosecutor at the time of Kenny's conviction, called Kenny "the perfect cross between a bulldog and a saint" for his work.

Deliberate Injustice has many highs and lows. The reader becomes engaged and enraged throughout. He feels anger and bewilderment at the events leading up to Kenny's arrest and conviction, frustration at his incarceration and battle for his release, exuberance at his freedom, and inspiration at his life after.

Deliberate Injustice is in narrative form with interviews, trial transcripts, depositions, police reports, and witness statements interspersed throughout. But what sets this book apart is Kenny's thoughts as he faces every lie and every indignation. Kenny describes his shame when marched into the courtroom in a prison suit and chains, in front of his friends and family and a courtroom of strangers; his complete humiliation as he is paraded throughout Jackson, naked and chained to several prisoners; his feeling of abandonment in his first day at Jackson Prison as he tears up a bedsheet in an effort to end his life; and his elation when declared a free man.

Deliberate Injustice is unlike all other stories about wrongful convictions, a compelling read from front to back cover.