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Man released from prison, awaiting new trial after daughter's 2009 death
A Michigan man is out of prison for the first time in nearly 14 years after the Mike Morse Law Firm and the University of Michigan’s Innocence Project worked to get him a new trial. He was sentenced to life for allegedly abusing his baby girl to death, but attorneys say the science around head trauma and what causes it has changed.
GENESSEE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - After almost 14 years behind bars, a Michigan man is free while awaiting a new trial after he was convicted of killing his infant daughter.
Michael Griffin was sentenced to life in prison after his 7-month-old daughter's death in 2009. The girl died of head trauma.
During his original trial in 2010, there were seven doctors who testified that Griffin abused the girl, which caused her death. However, he said he didn't secure her in a baby swing, so she fell and was hurt.
"She was really a little version of me, and the fact that, I just hate that I lost her so quick," Griffin said.
Attorneys with the Mike Morse Law Firm say since then, the science has changed surrounding head trauma and what can cause it.
"His lawyer didn't understand the science, didn't understand the medicine and didn't bother to hire someone," Morse said. "He was just awful, and he was disbarred soon after this conviction for misconduct."
The firm and the University of Michigan’s Innocence Project have worked to get Griffin a new trial.
Morse said the high court expressed concern that Griffin’s defense didn’t bring on experts to refute the prosecution's medical witnesses.
"Our system failed us, failed Mr. Griffin and it was in plain sight for everybody to see," Morse said.
Griffin was released on bond with a tether this week.
"It don't even feel real right now. Like, I’ve been out since yesterday and I haven't even been to sleep," he said. "I got a lot of catching up to do. I'm just happy I'm home with my family because they were there every day through the dark times."
Now, Griffin and Morse wait to see what the Genesee Prosecutor's Office decides. There is a tentative trial date set for the summer, but Prosecutor David Leyton said the case is being reviewed.
"We are pretty confident they are going to do the right thing and not retry this case, but we have to wait and see," Morse said.