Wrongly Convicted: One Woman’s Lonely Search for Justice for Her Husband

Jack Lessenberry Politics & Prejudices

Louise O’Connell is a senior banking executive, accountant and fraud investigator. Her husband Jim was semi-retired and spent time helping out at the church they belonged to and a preschool it ran. One day in 2013, a seven-year-old former pre-school student said “Mr. Jim” had abused her more than a year before. There was no evidence, no witnesses, and he had no prior record of any sexual misbehavior, but he was swiftly convicted and given what amounted to a life sentence. His wife Louise is completely convinced he is totally innocent – and has devoted her life to winning justice for her husband. Bill Proctor is well-known to Southeast Michigan viewers as an award-winning investigative reporter who worked for WXYZ-TV for 33 years. But since retiring from journalism, he has been running Bill Proctor and Associates, a private investigative and security services firm based in Bloomfield Hills. He is very familiar with the O’Connell case. Raj Mehta is a licensed social worker and therapist who has examined Jim O’Connell and concluded that every sign shows that “Mr. O’Connell is not guilty and has been the victim of overzealous law enforcement and a troubled family with a child who engaged in false memories.”