The Case of Temujin Kensu

(formerly known as Frederick Freeman)

The case that originally exposed Bill Proctor to the issue of wrongful convictions is that of Fredrick Freeman, accused of murdering Scott Macklem in 1986. Macklem was gunned down at close range by a shotgun in his college parking lot in Port Huron. There were no real witnesses, except one who looked up after hearing the gun shot and saw a car speed away.

After initially coming up with no suspects, Macklem’s pregnant girl friend, Crystal Merrill, originally told the police she couldn't think of anyone who might have wanted to kill Scott. The problem is Merrill was jilted by Freeman and found herself unable to stop stalking him. So, Freeman moved to Bath, near Escanaba, MI to get away. The other problem is that 19 people placed Freeman in Escanaba the day of the murder. Forensics found no trace of shotgun residue on Freeman and no evidence that he ever even owned a firearm. With absolutely no evidence, Freeman was 23 years old when incarcerated and is now 45, having been in prison for 22 years now.

He married A'miko while incarcerated. Investigation in his case is active. You may write Temujin at:

Temujin Kensu, 189355                                                                    See the Complete Kensu Video Series
9625 Pierce Rd.
Freeland, MI 48623      Click Here to Make Your Voice Heard!

Ten Reasons Temujin Kensu Should Be Freed

1. Credible witnesses placed Fredrick Freeman in Escanaba, the night before, and the full day of the murder of Scott Macklem.

2. Prosecutors said the motive was to regain control of Maclem’s fiancé after Freeman and Crystal Merrill broke up. The jury never heard that Merrill had stalked Freeman at his home where he lived with his pregnant girlfriend, and that Freeman and family moved up north to get away from her.

3. St. Clair Co. prosecutor Robert Cleland argued an indigent Freeman ‘could have’ caught a private plane, flown from Escanaba and back in time. No pilot, plane, no flight plan or landing location were ever presented. One juror told Bill Proctor on camera, “it was speculation, but we never heard from Freeman his version of what really happened.”

4. Prosecutor Cleland and his assistant Elwood Brown (now a county judge) brought volunteer jail house snitch Philip Joplin to testify that Freeman confessed to him while they were in a city jail cell. Joplin told Proctor on camera before he died, he wanted to back out of their deal because he was lying, but he says in an affidavit and on camera that Cleland, Brown, cops and his parole officer all coerced him to take the stand and lie anyway. He was quickly, quietly released from jail. The jury knew nothing about the deal.

5. Proctor gave Freeman the polygraph Cleland had denied him. Chester Romatowski, 30 yr-plus MSP retired examiner, in a video-tape recorded event inside the prison, said Freeman passed and does not believe Freeman did the murder.

6. Freeman’s defense attorney, David Dean, was an active drug addict during the trial and was eventually disbarred for his uncontrolled addiction. He bungled the entire case and even stopped Freeman from testifying on his own behalf.

7. Michelle Woodworth, the 18 year old pregnant girlfriend of Freeman, has been polygraphed and passed the test. She indicated that she and Freeman were getting out of bed in Rock, Michigan just about the time the fatal shotgun blast was fired. She was intimidated by police investigators who told her if she testified on Freeman’s behalf, they would have social services take away her soon-to-be-born child, and so she hid during the trial rather than testify.

8. No murder weapon, get-a-way car or any physical evidence were ever connected to Freeman.

9. In the months and weeks before he was killed, Macklem was followed and threatened by two men, visibly upsetting him. Whatever these men were after, common sense says it is much more likely they had something to do with the murder than a man 460 miles away living his own life. But no one cared. They had their man.

10. Today attorney Samuel Gun represents a man who says he was a co-conspirator in the contract killing of Scott Macklem. If allowed to testify, he will detail the scenario, name the killer and the man who paid him to get the job done, excluding Freeman as a suspect.

For even more detail, read our more in-depth description of this case, as well as Sandra Svoboda’s articles in the Detroit Metro Times.

Reasonable doubt: Part I (Metro Times Detroit)
Reasonable doubt: Part II (Metro Times Detroit)

The Flint News - May 24, 2009

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