Thomas Rhodes, imprisoned for 1998 murder of his wife, vacated of murder convictions

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- After nearly 25 years, Thomas Rhodes, accused of the 1998 murder of his wife, will be released from prison.

The Minnesota Attorney General's Office announced Friday it vacated Thomas Rhodes' conviction of first- and second-degree murder for a lesser conviction of second-degree manslaughter.

Thomas Rhodes was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder in July 1998 after Jane Rhodes fell overboard and drowned during a nighttime boat ride together on Green Lake in Spicer.

Dr. Micahel McGee argued during the trial that Thomas Rhodes had intentionally grabbed his wife's neck, pushed her overboard and ran her over multiple times.

An independent opinion of the cause and manner of Jane Rhodes' death was given after McGee's credibility came into question several years later, the Attorney General's Office says.

The new examination found that Jane Rhodes' death was not inconsistent with an accidental fall.

Ultimately, the Conviction Review Unit (CRU) decided the medical evidence used in the Rhodes conviction was flawed.

The state says there is sufficient evidence to support Thomas Rhodes' conviction of second-degree manslaughter -- Thomas Rhodes had driven a small, unstable boat late at night at top speeds knowing Jane Rhodes could not swim and was not wearing a life jacket.

This is the first case reviewed by Minnesota's CRU to be freed from incarceration as a result of its investigation.