No Corroborating Evidence

A medical examination of Alyssa found no scars, tearing, bruises, or evidence of healing from any abuse. Yet at trial, the State’s doctor told the jury that his findings were “consistent” with sexual assault. Even though he admitted that his findings were far from proving sexual assault, he chose to testify that he thought they suggested sexual assault. That testimony was false even according to peer-reviewed medical journals in 1999.

John Kinsel was prevented from calling a medical doctor to testify to that fact because he was unable to pay the expert’s fee. The State refused to do so on his behalf.

In the years since John’s trial, medical science dealing with sexual assault has progressed, confirming that the cleft found in Alyssa’s physical examination — the only findings from that report –– should have been considered “normal and unrelated to a child’s disclosure of sexual abuse.”

No Matching Testimony

Alyssa testified that John raped her in several different houses her family lived in during the alleged period of abuse.

At the house where Alyssa’s family lived in Monroe, Louisiana, John never came to the house unsupervised. During the first time the family lived in Alyssa’s grandfather’s house, John and Adrienne were not dating or living together. Adrienne and Alyssa’s grandfather confirmed that John never spent a night there during the time that Alyssa alleged the abuse.

Only a Divided Jury

The jury initially came back with a 9-3 verdict, but prosecutors begged the judge to repoll them. One juror switched their vote to 10-2. Two of the jury alternates were in tears as the jury read off their verdicts for the second time.

Two people on John’s jury knew that John was innocent. 10-2 jury verdicts are no longer allowed in the United States of America. Louisiana got rid of them in 2022. Yet John’s conviction is allowed to stand.