By: John Hardin
In late 2020, we were asked to look into the potential wrongful convictions of David Thorne and Joe Wilkes. This request came to us from the outstanding journalist Maggie Freleng, another supporter of David’s whom we have worked with in the past named Lisa Spees, and David’s wife, Sue Thorne.
After some document review and correspondence, including a Zoom meeting with Maggie, Sue, and David, we had enough questions about the integrity of the convictions to go to the next stage of our vetting process, which is a full on-the-ground investigation led by our experienced private investigators. We also agreed to partner with Maggie for her podcast Murder in Alliance (MiA) during the reinvestigation because if it turned out either Joe or David were innocent, the coverage could help free them. We let Sue, David, and Maggie know that we usually have more of a comprehensive initial review done before we’re on the ground, but because of the timing of the podcast we moved forward.
Proclaim Justice (PJ) is a nonprofit that has limited resources and works multiple cases, so the decision to spend time and money on a case reinvestigation is not an easy one. We go into each one full of determination to find the truth and full of hope the evidence will show the prospective client is innocent. That is exactly how we approached this case. Unfortunately, we are unable to continue working on Joe’s and David’s cases. We have had private correspondence and conversations with David, Joe, and Sue explaining why we’ve made that decision, and listeners of MiA can hear some of those reasons. We do not feel the need to defend the integrity of our work, but we do need to address some recent comments made publicly by some of David’s supporters.
There are accusations from people out there that Maggie and/or Lisa benefited from a $25K donation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here’s what really happened: after hearing Maggie’s Unjust & Unsolved podcast covering David’s case, a donor reached out through the Free David Thorne website to see if there was a way in which she could donate to help David. Lisa, who was then working with Sue on the site, received the email and she and Sue had conversations about sending the donor to Proclaim Justice in order to help fund the investigation. Lisa then put the donor in touch with PJ’s director, John Hardin.
She was indeed willing to donate up to $25K for the case, but wanted to make sure it was done responsibly, so she and John spoke at length about how PJ operates, what was next for the case, and how the money would be spent. John explained that the initial investigation stage would cost $5K-$10K, so they agreed that she would donate $5K to PJ with more coming should we continue with the case. She subsequently donated $3K more to PJ as expenses exceeded the initial donation. The money was only used on expenses related to David’s case, and she was updated regularly and in detail about how the money was being spent. John and Sue also had multiple conversations over the course of months about the donation. Everyone seemed to be on the same page all along.
Neither Maggie nor Lisa ever saw a penny of that $8K. In fact, Maggie has never even corresponded with the donor. While Maggie did mention in MiA there was a donor willing to give $25K, these recent comments clearly suggest someone behind the scenes is alleging something nefarious occurred. These are egregious and factually inaccurate allegations. People making them need to know that they have been given false information and should apologize immediately.
It is always emotional when a case does not go the way we hoped and the way supporters of the inmate hoped. We understand that. But allegations such as this are damaging and unnecessary. We have prioritized this case to the delay of some of our other cases, which is a great regret. We are proud of our work and are proud of Maggie’s work. Everything has been done with integrity and transparency. This is not the outcome we hoped for when we started, but based on all we have learned, we rest easy in making the decision to cease our work on the case.
We have official clients and other cases we are investigating who need us now. Onward.