After Serving

By Hannah Wines, Managing Editor

In 2007, two highschool students were wrongfully convicted of attempted murder.

May 9, 2006, Kenny Phillips, Michael Sutton and two others were in a car traveling on the East Side of Cleveland. Cleveland homicide detective Daniel Lentz and Sergeant Michael Keane told the 2007 jury that they saw multiple shots fired from Michael Sutton’s Chevy into a victim’s car.

During the trial, Sutton was found guilty and was sentenced to 46 years in prison. While Phillips, who was also found guilty, was sentenced to 92 years after being convicted of shooting at Lentz during pursuit.

Though Lentz and Keane both testified against

Sutton and Phillips, no gun or shell casings were found from the area of the shooting. There were also no witness confirmations or camera footage obtained.

With help from The Ohio Innocence Project and the Wrongful Conviction project, Sutton and Phillips were released in 2021 and fully exonerated in 2022 after a 15-year prison sentence. The Innocence Project promotes fair, compassionate and equitable systems of justice by freeing the innocent and preventing wrongful convictions.

“To help a person that has been wrongfully convicted, all you have to do is contact the Ohio Innocence Project. There’s one in every state.” Sutton says that they are helpful when dealing with DNA and other aspects of wrongfully convicted cases.

Sutton and Phillips will never get the 15 years of their lives back that they spent wrongfully in prison, but there is no doubt the rest of their lives will be limitless.

“What I’m most excited for looking into the future is just the experience of whatever comes with life,” says Sutton who has a daughter on the way and is ready to get back to school. “I missed out on a lot but looking at the future, I just know it’s going to be great.”

The University of Akron has granted both men full-ride scholarships, which will not be Michael Sutton’s first. Sutton was granted a scholarship to The University of Akron in 2006 before he was sentenced.

“My Goals have changed a lot from high school to now. Back then, I wanted to own a barber shop. Now, I think about Real Estate, and I guess my dreams and goals continue to get bigger.” Sutton says.

While in prison he has been hard at work on a book and plans to write more. When it comes to his degree, he is leaning toward criminal justice and business management.

Sutton urges the students at The University of Akron to always focus on the future. He also wants to thank UA and would like everyone to welcome Kenny Phillips and him with open arms. That, we can do.