Swain 'won't take anything for granted'

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) - It has been seven years since Lorinda Swain has had a chance to sit on her lawn, enjoying her family's chatter.

She took her first steps as a free woman at around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

It took three days for Swain to be released after a judge made the decision. She is out pending a retrial on charges she molested her teenage son in 2002.

The holdup was due to all the paperwork required to secure her bond, activate her tether and make sure she followed the requirements set forth by the judge.

"We can't ever get the eight years back, but I'm going to start from here," Swain said. "And I'm gonna get it right this time."

Dozens of family members, including some too young to have ever known Swain, gathered in a small room outside the bond office.

Some held signs welcoming her home.

Then, the door leading to a jail waiting area slowly opened.

A tearful cry of "mom" was followed by applause from the relatives who gathered to congratulate Swain on her freedom.

She hugged her mother, Fay Johnson, then embraced her father, George.

After more paperwork, the welcoming party moved outside the jail.

"I knew I was innocent, so I knew there was hope," Swain told reporters outside the jail. "Even when it seemed really hopeless, I still held on to that thin thread, 'cause I knew I was innocent."

Swain's story is well known.

Convicted in 2002 of performing oral sex on her adopted son Ronnie, the alleged victim soon recanted his story.

Other witnesses since have come forward, supporting the notion that the crime never happened.

While she could not convince the judicial system to listen, others did.

Then-24 Hour News 8 reporter Brad Edwards picked up the story in 2006.

"I would just tell him that I owe him my life," Swain said. "It's like a puzzle, so many pieces it took to get me here."

Next, a group of law students from the University Of Michigan's Innocence Clinic examined the case.

They convinced a judge there was enough evidence to force a retrial.

Until that trial, Swain is free.

"I'm a little sad that I'm on tether," she said. "The cops were saying just because you won your appeal, that doesn't mean you're innocent. And, I am innocent, and I'm anxious to not have a tether and have my name cleared. But I'm glad to be out."

Swain is staying with her parents, enjoying what she couldn't have in prison, like licorice and cigarettes, while she waits for word on a new trial.

She spoke with 24 Hour News 8 on Wednesday night about her new freedom.

Regardless of Ronnie's lie, which created the legal nightmare, Swain said she forgives her son.

"It's still the happiest day of my life, the day I adopted my boys, and even if I would have known that I would have been put in prison and wrongly accused, I still would have adopted them," Swain said. "They've brought me far more joy than they could ever bring me sorrow. I love them."

Despite the support of her family, especially her parents, Swain said at times, she had contemplated suicide. But it was Ronnie who kept her going.

"When it looked hopeless some years back, I strongly considered it, planned it even," she said. "I had the sheet to the bed. It was for Ronnie that I didn't, because he wouldn't forgive himself probably."

With a second chance, Swain looks at everything in her life as a new opportunity.

"I'll never take anything for granted again," she said. "There's so much that you, people take for granted, and once you've been in prison, especially the length of time that I have, I don't think I'll ever take anything for granted ever again."