A wrongful conviction case has surfaced, shedding light on a grave miscarriage of justice that saw an innocent man spend 14 years behind bars. Michael Griffin filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on November 13, 2025, against the City of Flint, Genesee County, and several officials and medical professionals. The lawsuit accuses them of conspiring to fabricate evidence leading to his wrongful conviction.
The case centers around the tragic death of Griffin’s seven-month-old daughter, Naviah, in 2009. What began as a household accident quickly spiraled into a criminal investigation when doctors at Hurley Medical Center and Flint police officers falsely labeled it as abuse. The plaintiff claims that medical personnel and law enforcement officials manipulated evidence and coerced a confession from him through psychological pressure. According to Griffin’s complaint, detectives threatened him with losing parental rights unless he confessed to harming his daughter. The original recordings of these interrogations were allegedly destroyed or concealed.
The lawsuit alleges violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Michigan common law, claiming breaches of Griffin’s Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights due to unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful conviction, and false imprisonment based on fabricated evidence. The defendants named include police officers Terry Coon and David Forsteyk; doctors Samantha O’Broin, Brian Nolan, Gregory Casey; forensic officials Allecia Wilson and Brian Hunter; among others.
Griffin seeks compensation for the lost years of liberty and irreparable emotional harm suffered due to this systemic abuse of power. He aims to hold accountable those responsible for what he describes as one of Michigan’s most grievous miscarriages of justice in recent history. His exoneration came only after new evidence emerged revealing the extent of the fabricated narrative used against him.
Representing Michael Griffin are attorneys Shereef H. Akeel, Adam S. Akeel, and Daniel W. Cermak from Akeel & Valentine PLC. The case is presided over by Judge [Name not provided] under Case ID: 4:25-cv-13615-MAG-DRG.
Source: 425cv13615_Michael_Griffin_v_City_of_Flint_Complaint_Eastern_District_of_Michigan..pdf
