Thomas Rhodes

On January 13, 2023, Thomas Rhodes was released from Moose Lake Correctional Facility after spending nearly 25 years in prison for a crime that never occurred.

A Tragic night on the lake

On August 2, 1996, during the final night of their family vacation, Thomas and Jane Rhodes took one last boat ride after their children had gone to bed. Around 11:30pm, their excursion turned tragic when Jane fell from the boat into the lake. Thomas jumped in the lake in an effort to save Jane but was unable to locate her. Thomas, visibly distraught and nearly speechless, managed to make his way back to the resort and communicate enough information for the desk clerk to contact emergency services. 

Despite immediate rescue efforts, Jane’s body was not recovered until 13 hours later, when two fishermen discovered her body almost a mile north of the area where Thomas had directed rescuers the previous night.

Due to unexplained trauma to Jane’s face and head, a homicide investigation was triggered. While Thomas always maintained that his wife’s death was a tragic accident and that he attempted every effort to save her, authorities concluded that he killed his wife by striking her in the neck, pushing her overboard, and running over her body at least twice with his boat.

“Our loss and our pain was soon amplified by the legal systems’ failures. Always being a law-abiding person, I believe that an innocent person would not be wrongly charged and convicted. I was so wrong.”

— Tom Rhodes

A conviction built on a questionable foundation

In order to convict Thomas of Jane’s murder, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to cause Jane’s death with premeditation and any defense of an accidental fall was an impossibility.

At trial, the state relied on testimony from medical examiner Dr. Michael McGee to prove Thomas intended to kill Jane by hitting her multiple times with the boat. Dr. McGee, who completed Jane’s autopsy, told jurors that based on Jane’s injuries, he could conclude that Thomas intentionally grabbed his wife by the neck, pushed her overboard, and ran her over multiple times.

The State also relied on testimony about the conditions of the lake on the night Jane died from Captain William Candler, as well as testimony from witnesses located on the shore. A jury convicted Thomas of First-Degree Premeditated Murder and he was sentenced to life in prison.

Investigations reveal erroneous and incomplete evidence

The Great North Innocence Project’s legal team began investing Thomas’ case in 2013. Ultimately, investigations by the GNIP team resulted in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office’s Conviction Review Unit (CRU) looking at Thomas’ conviction.  

GNIP had nine forensic pathologists review the state’s case and Jane’s autopsy and all determined the medical examiner, Dr. McGee, was incorrect in his assessment of Jane’s injuries. The CRU also retained and consulted its own independent medical examiner who disagreed with Dr. McGee’s assessment. The nine other forensic pathologists plus the CRU’s hired medical examiner agree that Jane’s injuries were explained by a single blow to her head, possibly from falling out of the boat or from a single unintentional strike by the boat as Thomas searched the water; postmortem dragging along the bottom of the lake; aquatic animals feeding on the face; and postmortem injuries sustained to the body during recovery and transport. None would have called her death a murder.

GNIP’s investigation also uncovered factual inaccuracies in the testimony of Captain William Chandler, who testified he believed Thomas misled investigators when searching for his wife’s body. However, his conclusions were based on the inaccurate claim that the lake water was nearly thirty degrees colder than it actually was on the day of Jane’s death. 

The CRU investigation also discovered that the prosecutor’s office withheld evidence from the defense that would have benefited Thomas at trial. This evidence, an interview transcript between Dr. McGee and then Kandiyohi County Attorney Boyd Beccue, includes Dr. McGee expressing uncertainty as to whether Jane was struck by the boat just once or multiple times after going overboard. However, during trial, Dr. McGee testified that Thomas struck Jane multiple times with his boat, suggesting intent. The prosecutor amplified that unfounded testimony in his closing argument by saying that the multiple boat strikes proved premeditated murder. Since his testimony in Thomas’ case, Dr. McGee has faced increasing scrutiny, with courts finding several problems with his work over the last two decades. In the decision United States v. Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a federal judge noted that Dr. McGee “has a well-documented history of providing false or inaccurate testimony in court,” and that his testimony in the case was “so unmoored from a scientific basis that it should not have been received at all.” Dr. McGee was also found to have given false medical evidence in the 2006 conviction of GNIP client Michael Hansen for the murder of his infant daughter. Michael was eventually exonerated and compensated by the state after spending nearly seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit. GNIP is currently involved in a review of Ramsey County cases that involved Dr. McGee.

Freedom

On January 13, 2023, Thomas was freed after 25 years in prison for a crime that not only did he not commit, but never actually occurred. Based on the investigations completed by GNIP and the Attorney General’s Office, the CRU recommended to local prosecutors that Thomas’ sentence be revisited. Ultimately, the Kandiyohi County Prosecutor’s Office offered Thomas a deal: plead to the lesser sentence of manslaughter and be released with time served immediately. Thomas agreed to submit an Alford plea (a plea in which Thomas did not admit guilt, but acknowledges that he could be convicted if brought to trial), and he was immediately released into the arms of his family and legal team.

Tom at the 2023 Benefit for Innocence
Tom with his brother and son after being released from prison

Thomas’ release was a Herculean effort made possible through the help of pro bono attorneys, law students, and GNIP staff.  Former GNIP Legal Director Julie Jonas led the effort which included pro bono attorneys Alexandra Olson and Samuel Lockner of Carlson Caspers law firm, Mark Bradford of Bradford Andresen Norrie & Camaratto law firm, former pro bono attorney David Schultz of Maslon LLP, current GNIP Legal Director Jim Mayer, GNIP Attorney Anna McGinn, and countless students from the University of Minnesota and Mitchell Hamline law schools. Former GNIP Staff Attorney and current Board Member Sara Martin contributed significant early work on the case, as well.

Since being released, Thomas has reunited with his sons, his six grandchildren, and his family. He has launched an online art company, Thomas D. Galleries. While in prison Thomas learned to paint, and developed an impressive artistic skillset. He sells prints and originals in his online gallery, and has plans for in-person art shows. He resides in South Dakota.

Visit Tom’s online art gallery

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