No innocent person should ever have to spend a day in prison. Yet, some wrongfully convicted men and women and their attorneys say that’s a reality many people face in Michigan and across the country.
National Wrongful Conviction Day is Oct. 2. It’s a day Michael Griffin of Flint and his attorney Michael Morse are using to raise awareness. They want community members to know how wrongful convictions are seriously impacting lives.
“My faith was gone, all hope was gone,” said Griffin as he sat in the living room of his home in Flint.
Life after lock-up, Griffin said, has been challenging.
“I was accused of murdering my daughter,” Griffin said.
Griffin was 19 years old back in 2009 when he rushed his infant daughter, Naviah Griffin, to Flint’s Hurley Medical Center. The child fell from a motorized swing. The baby was struggling to breathe due to brain injuries.
The next day, Griffin learned his little girl was gone.
“It happened so quick,” Griffin said. “The moment she died, I got locked straight up for it. I really didn’t have no time to sit and grieve over it. I got locked straight up.”
Griffing was a first-time father. He was convicted to a life sentence on murder charges for a crime he’s always maintained he didn’t commit.
“The guards already know why you are in there,” Griffin said. “So, they start saying stuff. ‘There’s the baby killer. There’s the guy who killed his kid.’ So, people are reading off into that.
In May 2023, Griffin was released from prison after the Michigan Innocence Project urged Southfield-based attorney Michael Morse to examine the case pro bono.
“Haven’t nobody sat down and asked me how I feel,” Griffin said. “I’m still angry.”
He’s angry at the system, which he and his attorney described as flawed, where many wrongfully convicted men and women didn’t get a fair shake.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people in prison, right now, serving life sentences, who did not commit the crime, or at least didn’t have a fair trial,” said Morse.
In Griffin’s case, Morse said his court-appointed attorney failed to call any expert witnesses. Prosecutors called eight.
The Genesee County District Attorney’s Office dropped the criminal charges against Griffin in October 2023. That was a relief for Griffin. It was also the start of a new challenge, according to Morse.
“When someone gets out of prison, who didn’t commit the crime as an exoneree, there are no services,” Morse said. “There are no services to help them find a job, housing, training, skill-based training. Anything. So, he’s on his own.”
Griffin is on his own now, trying to navigate a new normal. He doesn’t have much work experience. Yet, he hopes someone will help give him a shot at some type of career opportunity.
“Just everything, It’s very hard,” Griffin said through a broken smile.
Griffin is urging other wrongfully convicted men and women never to give up.
Morse is urging more attorneys to consider taking on challenging cases like this.