A Minnesota man who was freed final yr after almost 25 years in jail for the loss of life of his spouse is suing a former medical expert and different authorities, accusing them of fabricating and withholding proof, resulting in a wrongful conviction.
Thomas Rhodes, 64, filed go well with in federal court docket, naming former Ramsey County Medical Examiner Michael McGee and others, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday. McGee’s conduct has beforehand precipitated a number of convictions and sentences to be tossed out prior to now 20 years.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
MINNESOTA MAN FREE AFTER 1998 CONVICTION FOR WIFE’S MURDER VACATED
Rhodes was convicted of first- and second-degree homicide in his spouse’s loss of life, which occurred throughout a ship journey on Inexperienced Lake in Spicer, Minnesota, in 1996. He was sentenced to life in jail. Final yr, he turned the primary particular person free of jail by Minnesota’s new conviction overview unit.
The lawsuit alleges that McGee, together with now-deceased Kandiyohi County Legal professional Boyd Beccue and a Hennepin County investigator, fabricated unsupported conclusions and offered false testimony to explain Jane Rhodes’ loss of life as a premeditated murder.
Thomas Rhodes is photographed after his launch from jail in Moose Lake, Minnesota, Jan. 13, 2023. (Fong Lee by way of AP)
“I’ve gained my freedom,” Rhodes mentioned in an announcement Tuesday. “I now sit up for justice.”
Jane Rhodes fell overboard in July 1996 whereas on a late-evening boat journey together with her husband. The lawsuit mentioned neither particular person was carrying a life jacket, and Jane Rhodes fell after dropping her steadiness whereas leaning ahead. Rhodes could not find his spouse at the hours of darkness waters. Two fishermen discovered the physique alongside the shore the subsequent day.
Kandiyohi County’s coroner had restricted expertise assessing drowning victims, so McGee examined Jane Rhodes’ physique. McGee and Beccue held what Rhodes’ attorneys referred to as an improper non-public assembly utilized by the prosecution to “try and affect the dedication as to the trigger and method of loss of life.”
McGee ultimately dominated that the loss of life was a murder. McGee and prosecutors mentioned Rhodes struck his spouse on the neck, pushed her overboard and ran over her physique with the boat.
The Minnesota Conviction Evaluate Unit was launched by Legal professional Normal Keith Ellison in 2021. As a part of its investigation, a forensic pathologist discovered that Jane Rhodes’ loss of life was not inconsistent with an unintentional fall, the workplace mentioned.
A decide vacated Rhodes’ homicide convictions in January 2023. The decide then accepted a plea to second-degree manslaughter. Rhodes was sentenced to 4 years in jail, and he acquired credit score for time served, which led to his launch.
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Final yr, the Ramsey County Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned it will overview greater than 70 felony convictions linked to McGee, who served because the county medical expert from 1985 to 2019. He did return cellphone calls searching for remark.
