Milwaukee man denied $275,000 claim for dismissed attempted-homicide charge

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A Milwaukee man who spent more than six years in prison for a dismissed attempted-homicide charge won’t receive monetary compensation for his time. The State of Wisconsin Claims Board denied Michael Winston’s $275,000 claim on Tuesday.

The case against Winston arose after three men had shot and robbed another man in 2012. Winston said police had the three suspects in custody, but they still arrested him six days later. He said the victim had identified him in a photo array before he went in for surgery and one of the suspects said he wasn’t involved, but the police charged him nonetheless. Winston said he had been spending time with a former girlfriend when the crime occurred.

Statements from the district attorney said the state denied that the police knew he was innocent. The district attorney said the victim identified Winston as the man who had shot him and had tried to pull a mask over his head. The DA said Winston had also knowingly provided the car used in the shooting.

Winston was convicted of attempted homicide, kidnapping, robbery and reckless injury as party to a crime in 2013. In 2017, the court ordered a new trial and later dismissed charges against him in 2018.

Winston asked for $25,000 for the six years and three months he had spent in prison, as well as $250,000 for pain and suffering. The claims board determined Winston wasn’t able to prove his innocence by clear and convincing evidence, the legal standard used in these sorts of disputes. The board said the state dismissed the retrial because officials couldn’t find the victim, not because of the grounds for innocence. The members of the claims board voted 4-0 to deny awarding Winston compensation. Follow @WLJReporter