Prosecutor Misconduct No. 1663714112 - 988339629

The State of Michigan Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) investigated the claim of innocence of Temujin Kensu (formerly known as Fredrick Thomas Freeman) in the matter related to the conviction he is currently serving (LWOP) for the murder of Scott Macklem. After the state CIU accepted his application, an investigation was conducted. After the course of the investigation the Attorney General’s office informed St. Clair County Prosecutor Mike Wendling that Temujin Kensu was in fact completely innocent of the murder of Macklem and that was their conclusion found in their final report in the matter which was provided to him along with the Attorney General Memorandum dated April 21, 2021 and/or November 21, 2021. I spoke with Mike Wendling in a recorded phone call on March 5, 2021 in which he disclosed to me that he would absolutely take action to free Temujin Kensu from any wrongful conviction if the Attorney General Dana Nessel or her Conviction Integrity Unit team in fact ever came to him and informed him that there was wrongdoing and misconduct leading to a wrongful conviction in his case. The AG’s office notified Wendling of the results of the investigation per the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 3.8 which states: (f) When a prosecutor knows of new, credible, and material evidence creating a reasonable likelihood that a convicted defendant is innocent of the crime for which the defendant was convicted, the prosecutor shall: (1) promptly disclose that evidence to an appropriate court or authority, and (2) if the conviction was obtained in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction, (i) promptly disclose that evidence to the defendant unless a court authorizes delay, and (ii) undertake further investigation, or make reasonable efforts to cause an investigation, to determine whether the defendant is innocent of the crime. (g) When a prosecutor knows of clear and convincing evidence establishing that a defendant in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction is innocent of the crime for which defendant was prosecuted, the prosecutor shall seek to remedy the conviction. (h) A prosecutor’s independent judgment, made in good faith, that the new evidence is not of such nature as to trigger the obligations of section (f) and (g), though subsequently determined to have been erroneous, does not constitute a violation of this Rule. Regardless of this notification and conclusion of their independent unbiased investigation concluding Kensu’s innocence, Mike Wendling refuses to act to release Temujin Kensu of the sentence of Life without Parole for the murder of Scott Macklem, which he is wholly innocent of.