Swain reacts to MI Supreme Ct. decision

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) - Lorinda Swain, the woman accused of molesting her adopted son, will not have her case heard in front of the state Supreme Court.

Now, she's terrified the Calhoun County Prosecutor will ask that her bond be revoked, meaning she could be back in prison within a matter of weeks.

"I walked over to Santa Claus and I said, Santa, and I started bawling," Swain said Sunday. "I said, 'I know I'm too old to come over here and see you.' I said, 'I need for Christmas to not go back to prison.' "

As of Monday afternoon, no motions had been filed to revoke Swain's bond.

In 2002, she was convicted of sexually assaulting her son, Ronnie. She was sentenced to between 25 and 50 years in prison. Ronnie later recanted his story.

New testimony and evidence led Calhoun County Judge Conrad Sindt to set aside the guilty verdict and order a new trial. Swain was let out of prison on bond, monitored by a tether.

The judge in that case went as far as to say he didn't believe Swain would be convicted again.

Prosecutors appealed, which led to the Court of Appeals saying in June that Swain's case didn't meet the standard needed to justify a second appeal -- or a new trial.

The Innocence Clinic, a legal group from the University of Michigan that represents Swain, appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.

On Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court came down with a 4-3 vote, saying it would not hear the case.

"It's a nightmare that just hasn't ended, and seems like it's not going to end still for a very long time," Swain said. "My biggest fear is I'll be back in a prison cell before I go before a judge for a commutation. I was hoping to have a Merry Christmas, but I don't think that can happen now."

One of Swain's attorneys is David Moran, the co-director of the Innocence Clinic. Moran spoke with 24 Hour News 8 on the phone Monday afternoon, saying the group has until Jan. 6 to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling.

"We are 100% convinced of Lorinda's innocence and we will fight until she is free of these charges," Moran said.

The appeals court's decision that Swain should not get a new trial is based on a technicality, he added. If that decision stands, it will make it more difficult for people who have been wrongly convicted, and have proof of their innocence, to get new trials, Moran said.

The Supreme Court will have one different judge when it rules on Swain's motion for reconsideration. One of the justices who voted not to hear the case will be replaced by a different judge next year.

"We need to get one more justice, and we're not aiming for any particular justice," Moran said. "We're just trying to get one more justice to agree to hear the case. It's not about who's on the court but it's about the court doing the right thing."

24 Hour News 8 called and went to the Calhoun County Prosecuting attorney's office Monday, but no one would speak on Swain's case.

Swain has not lost hope, she said.

"There is still hope and the biggest hope is that I am truly innocent," she said. "Someway, somehow, justice will prevail.

"As scared as I am, I'm still holding on to that thin thread. I am innocent, and there's proof of it, and there's a lot of people that know it, although when I hear myself say it, I'm scared to death."

Swain has maintained her innocence throughout the entire case.

"I carried a lot of bitterness and hate in prison for a long time for (the people who put me here), and I came a ways with that," Swain said. "And not because I'm a good person, but because it's destroying me. And now that things are back looking worse for me, and I'm talking about it, it brings it back."