Woman can stay free during sex-abuse appeals

BATTLE CREEK— A Calhoun County woman will remain free on bond while lawyers try to persuade the Michigan Supreme Court to get involved in a sex-abuse conviction that fell apart because of new evidence.

A judge in Battle Creek erased Lorinda Swain’s 2002 conviction and granted a new trial in a case involving her adopted son. But the state appeals court reversed the decision two weeks ago.

A judge today said Swain can remain free while she appeals to the Michigan Supreme Court. The prosecutor wanted her in jail.

Swain is being helped by the Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school. The alleged victim has recanted, and new witnesses have raised other doubts.

A question for the Supreme Court is whether Swain has run out of appeals.