A Ramsey County judge on Monday granted the Great North Innocence Project access to documents related to an autopsy conducted by embattled former Ramsey County Medical Examiner Michael McGee in a 2009 murder case.
The innocence project, a nonprofit law firm, is investigating the case of Michael Sontoya, who was convicted of assault and murder and sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole in the death of Gabriela Romo of Inver Grove Heights. In requesting the data, the Innocence Project cited “increasing concerns about unreliable, misleading and/or false testimony” in cases dependent on McGee’s work.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, did not oppose the Innocence Project’s request. The county attorney’s office is conducting its own investigation into McGee’s work in Ramsey County, which dates back four decades. During a hearing Monday, the Ramsey County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Sontoya’s case is one of 71 in the current phase of review. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is also investigating cases it prosecuted in which McGee testified on behalf of the state.
Attorney James Mayer of the Innocence Project has said that cases hinging on McGee’s testimony deserve close scrutiny. He told the courtroom Monday that the Innocence Project is not about to ask the court for relief in Sontoya’s case, but said a full review would require the entire file.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. In this case, there’s fire,” he said during the hearing, referring to McGee’s work. “The question is how far the fire has spread.”
At least four people have been released from prison or had their sentences reduced as a result of inaccuracies or flaws in McGee’s work, according to court records. An investigation by the Minnesota attorney general’s office into McGee’s work in the case of Thomas Rhodes, who was released after 25 years in prison due to a wrongful conviction in the death of his wife, accused McGee of reasoning backwards “from the non-medical evidence to the medical findings.”
McGee’s attorneys could not be reached for comment and have not commented on other recent Star Tribune stories about his work.
In an order Monday, Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro ordered the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office to give the Innocence Project access to a 113-page medical examiner file that he said contained some documents previously unavailable to the defense. Castro wrote that the Ramsey County Prosecutor’s Office was not aware of the file until it received it a year ago as part of the review process. The document contained autopsy exam notes and other documents, he wrote.
Castro ordered that access to the file, which is private under Minnesota law, be limited to attorneys, support staff and supervised Sontoya. He noted that Sontoya’s right to a fair trial must be balanced with Romo’s privacy and the considerations of her family, who have endured a long and difficult ordeal.
