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MI
Steph Turner
Estimated innocence score:
89
%
Likely innocent when compared to cases already exonerated
asexual trans person sentenced to lifetime sex offender registration
Highlights of this wrongful conviction
- no criminal history
- always maintained innocence
- transphobic & homophobic prosecution
- no corroborating evidence
- climate of sex abuse hysteria
- no crime occurred
- sensationalized coverage in local media
- despite several degrees, no one will hire
Key contributing factors to this wrongful conviction
not a factor - minor factor - major factor - central factor
1. Witness misidentification?
2. False confession?
3. Official misconduct?
4. Junk science?
5. Jail informant?
6. Inadequate defense?
not a factor
not a factor
central factor
not a factor
not a factor
minor factor
Other contributing factors
How many other of 58 factors?
11
EIF version:
D
Wrongly convicted in
MI
of:
Aiding & abetting sexual misconduct 1st degree, 2nd degree
Wrongly convicted on
December 13, 1993
Sentence:
30 years prison; lifetime sex offender registry
Custody status:
sex offender registry
Dive deeper into Steph's compelling innocence
Prior to accepting herself as transgender, Janet (principal & codefendant) often ran afoul of the law. She appears to have suffered Asperger’s (high functioning autism), so was slow at responding to social cues.
Overcoming shame of being gender different helped her escape cycles of self-defeating behaviors. She overcame dyslexia and other challenges to lead a healthy life, until this happened.
Nobody's perfect
Synopsis
Asexual person comes out as transgender in early 90s, gets falsely accused as being a “sexual predator” homophobic stereotype. Convicted without evidence. Must register as sex offender for life. Forced into poverty and homelessness.
On July 7th, 1993, Steph Turner awoke to hear voices from the other room. Steph could hear her sister Janet talking to someone. That person left, but later returned with her irate mother to accuse Janet of an incredulous crime. You see, Janet was born male and now openly transgender, long before that was socially acceptable. And Janet had yet to fully transition.
At the height of the sex abuse hysteria in the early-90s, Steph came out as gender-nonconforming transgender. But living in a religiously conservative community, Steph kept it private. Steph soon came out to Janet, years after Janet had.
They shared an apartment to rekindle their newfound bond. Both now freely embracing their feminine sides. Both describe themselves as asexual, as unable to feel erotic attraction unless being fully loved for their full selves. Both felt more drawn to their indigenous spirituality, of transcending the gender divide for deeper connection.
A neighborhood child drew curious, peeping into Janet’s window to gawk at what she called the "man with lipstick." She later came out as gay, but understandably could not risk rejection at home because of her young age. When caught not being home on time, the child leveled bizarre claims of sex abuse unbecoming from a child. Perhaps she was exposed to porn.
The child then dragged Steph into her transphobic-indoctrinated accusations. The child claimed that Janet and Steph had her pose in a photo, with her stabbing Steph in the chest with a jelly-stained butter knife.
She claimed this was to scare her from talking to police, that Janet and Steph would use the Polaroid photo to claim this young girl was the aggressor. Of course, no such photo ever existed. Unbelievable? Not if you already believe trans people are subhuman.
Child testimonies back then were often coached. Trans people were easily vilified. Since no corroborating evidence was necessary back then to convict for sexual misconduct, both transwomen were wrongly convicted. And both sentenced to long terms in men’s prisons. Janet did not survive. In 2001, she succumbed to cancer.
Repeated efforts to overcome their wrongful convictions have failed. After serving a full 12-year sentence, Steph was discharged and finished undergraduate and graduate degrees.
But now Steph must register as a sex offender for life, despite being asexual. This continues to destroy Steph's economic and other opportunities. Your support can help turn this around.
Summary
Accuser's needs
The young complainant later came out as gay. She couldn't risk her parents' rejection. She appeared curious to Janet's courage to be openly gender nonconforming.
When confronted by her mother why she was in the apartment with that "man with lipstick", she understandably fabricated a story that she was not there on her own volition but dragged there and assualted.
Her parent's homophic slurs agains us reinforced this young girl's defensiveness to hide from the truth.
The Grand Rapids community must be kept safe from sexual violence and the threat of sexual violence. The GRPD must respond to calls about alleged sexual violence. The local DA and prosecutors must ensure the community is kept safe from actual sexual predators.
The local press needs to provide newsworthy content to its local audience, which may include sensationalizing distortions that the average viewer needs to filter out on their own. The local transgender community needed to make sense of what happened. Steph's employer had to find someone to replace the shipping & receiving role Steph had performed.
Steph's family needed to find an alternate source of income. Steph's three daughters and newborn son had to adjust to a life without their father. Alisha had to find how to become a single mother during this painful adjustment.
Other's needs
Appeal results
Appellate counsel filed a 60-page brief with 11 issues. Appellate panel threw out one conviction while wrongly affirming the other.
The more serious charge of aiding and abetting CSC1 was reversed, but then replaced with a lesser CSC2 charge. In order to arrive to this conclusion, contrary to its norm, the appellate panel asserted the role as "trier of fact" when declaring the jury could have found Steph guilty of CSC2.
Remanded back to trial court for resentencing. Reduced the sentence but failed to address the whole wrongful conviction.
Steph applied for legal help from innocence projects five different times. Each time, Steph was declined for technical reasons from these under-resourced agencies.
Early in Steph's sentence: To prioritize serving death row.
Half way in their sentence: To priortize serving those with life sentences.
Just before finishing their sentence: To prioritize serving those with long prison sentences.
And after Steph was finally discharged, To serve those still incarcerated.
A decade after discharge from prison but still wrongly on lifetime sex offender registry: Could not see how testing the untested DNA could lead to a reversal in court.
Trying once more with the Michigan Innocence Clinic that does not rely on DNA evidence. This time, in conjunction with the Public Exoneration alternative to adversarial and alienating legalism.
Innocence Movement Results
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Steph
Latest tally of feedback to this innocence claim.
Clearly guilty
0
Likely guilty
0
Likely innocent
2
Clearly innocent
5
Appellate Process
Presents mission creep of prioritizing its institutional needs over the needs of the public.
Innocence Project
Replicates this mission creep when working exclusively within the adversarial legal process.
Public Exoneration
Corrects this mission creep by prioritizing needs over institutionalized adversarial legalism.
After the adversarial options repeatedly fail, the new professional service of need-response counters with a mutual process that responsibly addresses each other's needs. When hate keeps failing to produce desired outcomes, it's time to try the power of love.
Follow my Public Exoneration campaign. Free. Consider becoming an active supporter for as little as $4.99 per week. Invest in restoring Steph’s freedom. Invest in yourself.
Proxy for innocence claimant:
Alisha Turner
Public Exoneration progress:
10
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sample testimonials
Tanya Simpson, Claimant's cousin
I was skeptical at first. I mean, how can something outside the official process help my cousin? Then I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing results.
Jonathan Glenn,
Claimant's coworker
I always knew that Claimant was fully innocent of all charges. Now I'm glad to be a part of process that can finally help liberate my friend.
Daniel Walker,
Claimant's father
These have been some painful years waiting for the legal process to correct this mess. Thankfully, this alternative is finally helping to bring my child home.