Selesa Likine
Wrongfully convicted: December 22, 2008
Exonerated: November 14, 2012
Oakland County
Selesa Likine's case is very different from the rest of the clinic’s cases. She was convicted in 2008 for failure to pay child support and received a sentence of two-years probation.
During the time that Selesa allegedly failed to pay child support, however, she was disabled, unemployed, and confined to a mental institution. At trial, she was not able to present any evidence pertaining to her inability to pay.
The clinic ultimately succeeded in getting Selesa’s conviction reversed in the Michigan Supreme Court—the clinic’s first victory in our state supreme court. The prosecutor dismissed all charges a few months later.
More details available at:
- The National Registry of Exonerations: Selesa Likine
- Michigan Law School News: "Innocence by Impossibility"
- ACLU News: "Michigan Supreme Court Orders A New Trial For Mother Jailed For Being Too Poor To Pay Child Support"