(WXYZ) — I know you’re probably binge watching TV shows and we have one more to add to the list. A new Netflix series debuting today has ties to metro Detroit. It follows people who have been wrongfully convicted of a crime.
That includes the story of a local man who spent nearly 10 years behind bars.
The exoneree, Ken Wyniemko, hopes viewers take interest in learning more about wrongful convictions and how to prevent them. He previewed the series last week with a rush of memories and emotions.
“I was crying so much,” Wyniemko said.
He was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the early 1990s.
In 2003, a team from Western Michigan Univeristy’s Cooley Law School Innocence Project took on the case and tested DNA found at the scene.
That’s when it led to Ken’s exoneration and handcuffs on the real rapist.
Wyniemko says TV producers became interested in his story because of the book “Deliberate Injustice.”
“I think people will be pretty shocked and surprised how some of these cases come about,” said The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project Director Marla Mitchell-Cichon.
She and Wyniemko both point fingers at government officials on how they handled Wyniemko’s case.
They say more needs to be done to hold law enforcement officials accountable for their actions instead of getting a pass for wrongful convictions.
“Until that stops the problem with wrongful convictions will never end,” Wyniemko said.
Even though the series is binge-worthy, Wyniemko wants viewers not be entertained, but rather informed about how often these wrongful convictions happen and what needs to be done to stop them.
"As I said, I will keep fighting until the day that I die,” he added.
The nine-episode show is available on Netflix now.
