26 year old Albert Wilson, of Wichita, has filed a lawsuit to sue the State of Kansas for his 2019 conviction in a rape case, for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. The move comes after Wilson was granted a new case due to ineffective assistance of counsel.
Wilson was originally scheduled for a retrial, which was ultimately dismissed by Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez in December of last year.
The new lawsuit was filed earlier in April in Douglas Co. District Court for wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
Wilson was sentenced in January 2019 to more than 12 years in prison. In February 2020, the case was remanded back to the District Court to decide whether he was entitled to a new trial due to ineffective counsel.
In March of last year, the court determined Wilson was entitled to a new case, but Valdez eventually dismissed it with prejudice–meaning charges could not be refiled–saying the matter was resolved through a restorative justice process.
Wilson had already spent more than two years in prison by that point. He maintained his innocence throughout the case and has now asked the state to award him with full monetary relief under Kansas’ wrongful conviction laws, along with attorney fees, tuition assistance, health care and other costs.
Photo Credit: KWCH
