An expenditure of $90,000 from the general fund for payment of a claim against the state made by Robert Lee Stinson

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill directs expenditure of $90,000 from the general fund in payment of a claim made by Robert Lee Stinson against the state. In November 1984, the body of Ione Cychosz was found in the city of Milwaukee. Ms. Cychosz was beaten to death and there were numerous bite marks on her body. In December 1985, the claimant was tried and convicted of her murder. There were no witnesses against him, and the only physical evidence was expert witness testimony purporting to match the claimant's dentition with the bite marks on the victim's body. The bite marks did not match because the claimant was missing a tooth, and the bite marks showed the perpetrator did not have that tooth missing, but the claimant's attorney failed to raise that issue. The claimant was sentenced to life imprisonment. After his conviction, the claimant obtained a reexamination of the bite mark evidence using more modern odontological techniques that excluded the claimant as the perpetrator. The state crime laboratory examined samples of the blood and saliva found on the victim's clothing and conclusively excluded the claimant as the source of the samples. The claimant asserted that at the time of the crime he was at a party, which was corroborated by five other persons. In January 2009, the circuit court for Milwaukee County vacated the claimant's conviction and sentence. In July 2009, the state dismissed all charges against the claimant. In July 2009, the DNA of another man, Moses Price, was matched to the crime scene and Mr. Price confessed to the crime. The claimant claimed $5,000 per year for 23 years of wrongful imprisonment plus $14,000 in attorney fees on behalf of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, which provided assistance to the claimant (total $129,000).

Under section 775.05 of the statutes the Claims Board may award compensation to a person who is imprisoned for a crime of which he or she is innocent if the board finds that the evidence is clear and convincing, that the person is innocent, and that the person did not by his or her act or failure to act contribute to bring about the conviction for which he or she seeks compensation. The amount awarded by the board may not exceed a total of $25,000, nor may an award be based upon a rate of compensation exceeding $5,000 per year. Compensation awarded by the board must include any amount to which the board finds that the claimant is entitled for attorney fees, costs, and disbursements. Under the law, if the board finds that the amount it is able to award is not adequate, it must recommend an adequate amount to the legislature.

Who's behind it

4 senators are its authors⁠. All 4 are Democrats.

6 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DOA