David Bintz, who was wrongly incarcerated, stands outside Mountains of Hope, the nonprofit where he finally found temporary housing after trying local shelters. | Photo courtesy Jarrett Adams Law

Robert Bintz wishes he could recover time lost behind bars. 

In September, the convictions of Robert and his brother David Bintz in the 1987 murder of Sandra Lison were overturned. The brothers left prison more two decades after they were convicted. 

“I missed my mom, before she died,” Robert Bintz told the Examiner in November. His mother passed away while he was incarcerated. “I missed my niece, Hannah. Got killed by a horrible car accident… I missed my job I once had.”

Upon his release from prison, Robert didn’t receive any reentry assistance from the state, according to his compensation request to the Wisconsin Claims Board in February. His sister isn’t able to meet his complex needs, the request said. 

The brothers are seeking $2 million apiece from the state for their imprisonment. Their compensation requests cite high anticipated costs for health care. 

“He’s 68 years old,” Isaiah Eastling, Robert’s nephew, told the Examiner in November. “It’s not fair for him to have to go and get a job like all of us, and just to try to get back into society like that. That’s impossible.”

Wisconsin law caps compensation for wrongful imprisonment at $25,000, unless the state Legislature grants more compensation, which is rare.

To award money, the Wisconsin Claims Board must find that evidence of innocence is “clear and convincing” and that the petitioner did not contribute to bring about their conviction and imprisonment by something they did or failed to do.

Jarrett Adams, an attorney working with the Bintz brothers, doesn’t yet know if they have a claim for a federal lawsuit, he said in late February. He said the brothers might not have an opportunity to get compensation if the state does not award it.

Robert’s sister, Cindy Eastling, said Robert called her every week when he was in prison. But she “had no idea that he had all these health issues.”

With little time to prepare, Eastling wasn’t ready for Robert’s arrival, she told the Examiner in November. His eye and arm were bruised, and he later told her he was beat up, she said.

He requires around-the-clock care and 20 daily medications for physical and mental health conditions, which worsened without sufficient medical attention in the prison system, according to his compensation claim. Eastling said her brothers will probably need assistance for the rest of their lives, and that they could be taken advantage of on their own.

“Bobby knows I love him, but it really took a toll on me,” Eastling said. “…I wasn’t prepared, and then the way he showed up, he looked absolutely horrible… he looks so much [healthier] now. We’re doing one physical problem at a time.”

Eastling said Robert’s asthma had improved. He used to use a nebulizer multiple times a day, she said. When Eastling spoke to the Examiner, he hadn’t used it in three weeks.

“Honestly, it scared me,” Eastling said. “I thought one morning I’d wake up and he’d be dead.”

The brothers have health care coverage, but it’s a challenge at times, Carla Broadnax of Jarrett Adams Law said in late February. 

Broadnax said that “accessing consistent care is persistently tricky, partially due to the cost associated with transportation, medical appointments, and necessary medications.” 

Housing has been an issue for both brothers, according to the compensation requests filed in February. After trying to find housing at shelters, David found a place to stay in Appleton through the help of a local nonprofit. 

David’s shared housing situation is temporary and not sufficient to meet his needs, as of his compensation request. Robert’s request said he hasn’t been able to acquire housing that can assist him with the round-the-clock support needed. 

Cindy Eastling thinks the system should work faster to support her brothers in the short term. A GoFundMe for David Bintz raised $4,165, with a $10,000 goal. Robert’s GoFundMe raised $12,829 with a $20,000 goal. David’s compensation request said his monthly disability and social security payments cover only his most basic needs. 

“This leaves everybody scrambling, [when] somebody like David and Robert gets out,” Adams said. “Everybody’s just trying to do what they can.”

Adams himself was once incarcerated and released after his conviction was overturned,and he co-founded the organization Life After Justice, which supports wrongfully convicted people. In late February, he said the brothers are receiving mental health care through the organization. 

“…He’s holding back a lot of things, I can tell,” Cindy Eastling said about Robert Bintz. “And he’s always happy, but bad things happened to him in there.” 

How were the Bintz brothers prosecuted? 

In 1999, the brothers were charged with the 1987 murder of Sandra Lison, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Testing of semen from a rape kit found that it didn’t belong to the brothers, and blood found under Lison’s body was not theirs. 

Additional DNA testing obtained by the Wisconsin Innocence Project in 2006 confirmed that blood found on Lison’s dress came from the same male whose sperm was found in the rape kit, according to the exonerations registry. A motion for a new trial was denied.

The Brown County Attorney’s Office prosecuted the brothers with a theory of robbery and murder. After the brothers’ exoneration in September, Brown County District Attorney David Lasee spoke to NBC 26.

“The prosecutors and the law enforcement officers were handling this case at the outset, followed the evidence that they had at that time, and that conviction was sound,” Lasee said.

Evidence against the brothers included statements from incarcerated people who said David had admitted to the crime.

In an interview with detectives, David Bintz eventually agreed to a statement that he and his brother were involved and that his brother had strangled Lison, according to David’s page in the National Registry of Exonerations. At the same time, he gave contradictory statements that he wasn’t involved and was home at the time of the crime.

David Bintz’s request for compensation claims that Bintz, who was intellectually disabled, was interrogated for over six hours, “depriving him of food, water and restroom breaks in clear violation of his rights.”

“During the interrogation, David Bintz maintained his innocence, but after several hours, he made confused and contradictory statements — some of which confirmed Swendby’s allegations, others which stressed his innocence,” the request states.

The request says David was coerced by the pressure and tactics of the detectives and signed a false statement implicating himself and Robert Bintz in Lison’s murder.

The Examiner asked Jarrett Adams Law about the sources the firm used for a section of the compensation request about the confession. Facts in the firm’s complaint, findings from investigative reports and communication with the Bintz brothers provided the context and basis for that part of the request, Broadnax said. 

Of 375 DNA exonerations between 1989 and 2020 tracked by the Innocence Project, over a quarter involved a false confession. 

The brothers had multiple convictions prior to their convictions in Lison’s murder, according to Brown County court records. In 1997, David was sentenced to prison for sexual assault. 

Jarrett Adams said that the identity of Lison’s attacker is now known and “nothing else matters but that. It wasn’t them.” 

Last year, investigative genetic genealogy linked crime scene evidence to three male children of a couple in the Green Bay area. In August, the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory determined that substances at the crime scene pointed conclusively to William Hendricks, who had a history of violent sexual attacks before his death in 2000. 

“The notion that Ms. Lison was having a secret sexual relationship with a recently-released convicted rapist is utterly implausible,” the Great North Innocence Project said in a motion to vacate Robert Bintz’s conviction, according to the exonerations registry.  

Life after exoneration

If the Bintz brothers receive compensation from the state, they have ideas for how to use it beyond paying for health care expenses. In late February,  Broadnax told the Examiner about the brothers’ plans.

They both want to own a home, she said. In an interview with the Examiner, David talked about helping others.“I’d help a couple people out that ain’t got nothing,” he said.

Robert wants to travel and see the world, and David wants to eat home-cooked food, Broadnax said. 

“The food was straight garbage,” David said of the food in prison. “Half [the] time, I didn’t eat the food. I just bought stuff off canteen if I could.”

David has been making cards, Broadnax said. He sends cards to about four to five incarcerated people, and also uses his cards and designs to help with the decor at Mountains of Hope, the nonprofit through which he found a place to stay. 

“That was my hobby,” David said. “When I knew I was getting out, he wanted me to leave all my art supplies behind. I said ‘No, I’m not leaving my stuff behind. I’m still going to do this when I get out.’”

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David Bintz, who was wrongly incarcerated, stands outside Mountains of Hope, the nonprofit where he finally found temporary housing after trying local shelters. | Photo courtesy Jarrett Adams Law

Robert Bintz wishes he could recover time lost behind bars. 

In September, the convictions of Robert and his brother David Bintz in the 1987 murder of Sandra Lison were overturned. The brothers left prison more two decades after they were convicted. 

“I missed my mom, before she died,” Robert Bintz told the Examiner in November. His mother passed away while he was incarcerated. “I missed my niece, Hannah. Got killed by a horrible car accident… I missed my job I once had.”

Upon his release from prison, Robert didn’t receive any reentry assistance from the state, according to his compensation request to the Wisconsin Claims Board in February. His sister isn’t able to meet his complex needs, the request said. 

The brothers are seeking $2 million apiece from the state for their imprisonment. Their compensation requests cite high anticipated costs for health care. 

“He’s 68 years old,” Isaiah Eastling, Robert’s nephew, told the Examiner in November. “It’s not fair for him to have to go and get a job like all of us, and just to try to get back into society like that. That’s impossible.”

Wisconsin law caps compensation for wrongful imprisonment at $25,000, unless the state Legislature grants more compensation, which is rare.

To award money, the Wisconsin Claims Board must find that evidence of innocence is “clear and convincing” and that the petitioner did not contribute to bring about their conviction and imprisonment by something they did or failed to do.

Jarrett Adams, an attorney working with the Bintz brothers, doesn’t yet know if they have a claim for a federal lawsuit, he said in late February. He said the brothers might not have an opportunity to get compensation if the state does not award it.

Robert’s sister, Cindy Eastling, said Robert called her every week when he was in prison. But she “had no idea that he had all these health issues.”

With little time to prepare, Eastling wasn’t ready for Robert’s arrival, she told the Examiner in November. His eye and arm were bruised, and he later told her he was beat up, she said.

He requires around-the-clock care and 20 daily medications for physical and mental health conditions, which worsened without sufficient medical attention in the prison system, according to his compensation claim. Eastling said her brothers will probably need assistance for the rest of their lives, and that they could be taken advantage of on their own.

“Bobby knows I love him, but it really took a toll on me,” Eastling said. “…I wasn’t prepared, and then the way he showed up, he looked absolutely horrible… he looks so much [healthier] now. We’re doing one physical problem at a time.”

Eastling said Robert’s asthma had improved. He used to use a nebulizer multiple times a day, she said. When Eastling spoke to the Examiner, he hadn’t used it in three weeks.

“Honestly, it scared me,” Eastling said. “I thought one morning I’d wake up and he’d be dead.”

The brothers have health care coverage, but it’s a challenge at times, Carla Broadnax of Jarrett Adams Law said in late February. 

Broadnax said that “accessing consistent care is persistently tricky, partially due to the cost associated with transportation, medical appointments, and necessary medications.” 

Housing has been an issue for both brothers, according to the compensation requests filed in February. After trying to find housing at shelters, David found a place to stay in Appleton through the help of a local nonprofit. 

David’s shared housing situation is temporary and not sufficient to meet his needs, as of his compensation request. Robert’s request said he hasn’t been able to acquire housing that can assist him with the round-the-clock support needed. 

Cindy Eastling thinks the system should work faster to support her brothers in the short term. A GoFundMe for David Bintz raised $4,165, with a $10,000 goal. Robert’s GoFundMe raised $12,829 with a $20,000 goal. David’s compensation request said his monthly disability and social security payments cover only his most basic needs. 

“This leaves everybody scrambling, [when] somebody like David and Robert gets out,” Adams said. “Everybody’s just trying to do what they can.”

Adams himself was once incarcerated and released after his conviction was overturned,and he co-founded the organization Life After Justice, which supports wrongfully convicted people. In late February, he said the brothers are receiving mental health care through the organization. 

“…He’s holding back a lot of things, I can tell,” Cindy Eastling said about Robert Bintz. “And he’s always happy, but bad things happened to him in there.” 

How were the Bintz brothers prosecuted? 

In 1999, the brothers were charged with the 1987 murder of Sandra Lison, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Testing of semen from a rape kit found that it didn’t belong to the brothers, and blood found under Lison’s body was not theirs. 

Additional DNA testing obtained by the Wisconsin Innocence Project in 2006 confirmed that blood found on Lison’s dress came from the same male whose sperm was found in the rape kit, according to the exonerations registry. A motion for a new trial was denied.

The Brown County Attorney’s Office prosecuted the brothers with a theory of robbery and murder. After the brothers’ exoneration in September, Brown County District Attorney David Lasee spoke to NBC 26.

“The prosecutors and the law enforcement officers were handling this case at the outset, followed the evidence that they had at that time, and that conviction was sound,” Lasee said.

Evidence against the brothers included statements from incarcerated people who said David had admitted to the crime.

In an interview with detectives, David Bintz eventually agreed to a statement that he and his brother were involved and that his brother had strangled Lison, according to David’s page in the National Registry of Exonerations. At the same time, he gave contradictory statements that he wasn’t involved and was home at the time of the crime.

David Bintz’s request for compensation claims that Bintz, who was intellectually disabled, was interrogated for over six hours, “depriving him of food, water and restroom breaks in clear violation of his rights.”

“During the interrogation, David Bintz maintained his innocence, but after several hours, he made confused and contradictory statements — some of which confirmed Swendby’s allegations, others which stressed his innocence,” the request states.

The request says David was coerced by the pressure and tactics of the detectives and signed a false statement implicating himself and Robert Bintz in Lison’s murder.

The Examiner asked Jarrett Adams Law about the sources the firm used for a section of the compensation request about the confession. Facts in the firm’s complaint, findings from investigative reports and communication with the Bintz brothers provided the context and basis for that part of the request, Broadnax said. 

Of 375 DNA exonerations between 1989 and 2020 tracked by the Innocence Project, over a quarter involved a false confession. 

The brothers had multiple convictions prior to their convictions in Lison’s murder, according to Brown County court records. In 1997, David was sentenced to prison for sexual assault. 

Jarrett Adams said that the identity of Lison’s attacker is now known and “nothing else matters but that. It wasn’t them.” 

Last year, investigative genetic genealogy linked crime scene evidence to three male children of a couple in the Green Bay area. In August, the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory determined that substances at the crime scene pointed conclusively to William Hendricks, who had a history of violent sexual attacks before his death in 2000. 

“The notion that Ms. Lison was having a secret sexual relationship with a recently-released convicted rapist is utterly implausible,” the Great North Innocence Project said in a motion to vacate Robert Bintz’s conviction, according to the exonerations registry.  

Life after exoneration

If the Bintz brothers receive compensation from the state, they have ideas for how to use it beyond paying for health care expenses. In late February,  Broadnax told the Examiner about the brothers’ plans.

They both want to own a home, she said. In an interview with the Examiner, David talked about helping others.“I’d help a couple people out that ain’t got nothing,” he said.

Robert wants to travel and see the world, and David wants to eat home-cooked food, Broadnax said. 

“The food was straight garbage,” David said of the food in prison. “Half [the] time, I didn’t eat the food. I just bought stuff off canteen if I could.”

David has been making cards, Broadnax said. He sends cards to about four to five incarcerated people, and also uses his cards and designs to help with the decor at Mountains of Hope, the nonprofit through which he found a place to stay. 

“That was my hobby,” David said. “When I knew I was getting out, he wanted me to leave all my art supplies behind. I said ‘No, I’m not leaving my stuff behind. I’m still going to do this when I get out.’”

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