Norris Sledge

Few details are known about the case of Norris Sledge, who was arrested on rape charges in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, in February 1922. Sledge was accused of raping Leila Mae Hulleton, who had become pregnant as a result of the alleged rape.

Sledge was tried for and convicted of this rape on the basis of testimony from Hulleton and a physician. He was sentenced to fifteen years at Waupun Correctional Institution on May 9, 1922. However, upon the birth of Hulleton's child, it was apparent that Sledge was not the child's father. A new trial was granted on July 26, 1922, and Sledge was freed from prison on August 3, 1922.

Sledge sought compensation under the Wisconsin law that allowed for compensation of innocent persons who had been imprisoned, but he was denied compensation. The reasons given for the denial were both because the statute was intended to compensate wrongfully convicted individuals who had been pardoned by the Governor and because Sledge had not served his full prison term following his wrongful conviction.

- Meghan Barrett Cousino