This story is beyond belief.  Plaintiff is convicted of a crime, and then the conviction is reversed.    However, no one, not his attorney, not the DA, and not the state ever let him out!  Result?  He stayed in jail for 17 years after reversal.

"Although the Michigan Court Appeals in 1989 overturned his 1987 conviction because inadmissible evidence was used against him, no one ever acted on the court’s order. It just sat there while Heyerman sat in prison — for an incredible 17 years. His original attorney did nothing to challenge his imprisonment.

The government was equally at fault. The Calhoun County prosecutor and circuit court failed to either re-try Heyerman or drop charges against him. Meanwhile, the Parole Board denied him release three times after he had served his minimum sentence.

Heyerman would still be in an Upper Peninsula prison if another inmate, a jailhouse lawyer, hadn’t helped him write a writ to get a new trial. Two weeks ago, a Calhoun County judge finally dropped all the charges against the 54-year-old former janitor. "

Heyerman plans to sue his original attorney and to file a civil suit against the state for wrongful imprisonment. This mess is likely to cost taxpayers more than they paid to keep Heyerman locked up.