Temujin Kensu

Temujin Kensu (born Fredrick Thomas Freeman, May 23, 1963) is an American man who was convicted of first degree murder in 1987 for the shooting of Scott Macklem in Port Huron and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

The prosecution case was based mainly on the testimony of Macklem's fiancée, who alleged that Freeman had raped her on their first date in May 1986, and a jailhouse informant said he had heard a confession. The defense case was simply that Freeman could not have committed the crime as there were multiple witnesses who placed him over 400 miles (640 km) from the scene. However, the prosecution suggested that Freeman could have traveled there using a chartered aircraft. In prison, he converted to Buddhism and changed his name to Temujin Kensu.

In 2007, Kensu filed for habeas corpus so that his continuing detention could be challenged. The petition was allowed because of additional alibi evidence and since the informant had later admitted lying. This ruling was overturned in 2012, based on legal time limits being exceeded. Kensu’s case has attracted widespread attention as being a possible miscarriage of justice but applications for executive clemency have been turned down.