BURLINGTON, MI (WTVB) – A Burlington woman who spent seven years in a state prison for a crime she says she did not commit will get a new trial thanks to a ruling on Wednesday by the Michigan Supreme Court.
Lorinda Swain was convicted in 2002 for molesting her 13-year-old adopted son Ronnie Swain. He has recanted his story and Lorinda Swain has spent the last seven years free on appeal.
Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Conrad Sindt twice ordered a new trial after Swain claimed a former boyfriend who did not appear at the original trial would have given favorable testimony. The judge felt it was new evidence but his ruling for a new trial was overturned by State Court of Appeals.
In a one page order, the court says the appeals court used the wrong legal standard in stopping a new trial.
The Supreme Court ruling is a stinging defeat for the Calhoun County Prosecutors office who have been fighting to have Swain’s conviction upheld. Prosecutor Dan Gilbert says Ronnie Swain recanted his story under pressure from the family and it’s not credible.
