Man found guilty of rape not wrongfully convicted says Kansas Supreme Court

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Members of the Kansas Supreme Court unanimously found a man in prison for a 2004 rape conviction was not wrongfully convicted.

The Kansas Supreme Court says in the case of Appeal No. 125,600: In the Matter of the Wrongful Conviction of Eric L. Bell, it unanimously affirmed dismissal for a wrongful conviction claim. The move affirmed the Sedgwick Co. District Court’s claim that Bell failed to state a claim in his filing.

The Court said it found Bell had filed his action outside of the statute of limitations period and that neither the tolling provisions nor the doctrine of equitable tolling rendered the action timely.

Bell had been convicted in 2004 after he was found guilty by a jury of rape and criminal restraint as well as four counts of domestic battery. He was sentenced to a little more than 21 years in prison.

Currently, Bell remains in prison on unrelated convictions of burglary and theft as well.

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