The attorney for a wrongfully convicted man says the state should be held accountable for making the mistake that sent his client to prison for six years for a sexual assault he did not commit.
After DNA evidence proved that Forest Shomberg did not commit the crime, the Wisconsin Claims Board initially denied his request for more than $100,000 to cover lost wages and legal fees used to prove his innocence. An Eau Claire County judge later overturned that ruling and reaffirmed Shomberg’s right to compensation .
Two months after that ruling in August, Shomberg died of a drug overdose. Nathan Otis, who now represents Shomberg’s estate, told the claims board this week that Shomberg’s death doesn’t let the state off the hook.
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“I think this is a case where Mr. Shomberg ran the race and crossed the finish line and he was just on his way to go collect the medal and unfortunately passed away,” said Otis. “That distinction of being alive at the time that ruling was entered, and that the right is vested in that compensation, is really at the end of the distinction to make.”
If the board does grant Shomberg’s claim, the money would go to his estate and be used to cover the legal costs his family spent in proving his innocence.
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