16 Facts About Michael Francke

James Michael Francke was an American judge from New Mexico and director of the state's Corrections Department, the governmental bureau which manages prisons, inmates, and parolees.

Michael Francke was later appointed by then-Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt to oversee a plan to double the state's inmate capacity as director of Oregon's Department of Corrections.

In 2019, the man convicted for the murder of Michael Francke was released from prison after his murder conviction was thrown out by a federal magistrate in Portland, who ruled he did not receive a fair trial; four years later, he was given a full release when his indictment by the county was dismissed with prejudice and his murder conviction was expunged from the record.

Michael Francke then attended the University of Virginia Law School on a scholastic scholarship, graduating with a law degree in 1971, and was admitted to the Virginia bar.

Michael Francke served in this capacity until 1980, when he became a judge for the First District Court in Santa Fe.

Michael Francke served as a judge for three years, and in 1983 became the director of the New Mexico Department of Corrections.

In May 1987, Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt hired Michael Francke to fill the corresponding position in Oregon.

Michael Francke was hired with a remit to address problems in the state's Department of Corrections.

Early on the morning of January 18,1989, a security guard found Michael Francke's body lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the North Portico of the Dome Building in Salem.

Michael Francke later recanted her testimony, instead claiming that another Salem drug dealer, Timothy Natividad, was the murderer.

Michael Francke was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Crouse had told law enforcement officers and members of his own family that he stabbed Michael Francke when caught trying to burglarize Michael Francke's car.

Kevin Francke has claimed that prior to his death, Michael Francke warned him of a threat on his life, and told him that he had discovered a network of corruption in the department.

Holm had offered the theory that the primary motivation for Michael Francke's murder was that he had discovered a plot by McAlister to "sell" paroles to inmates.

Michael Francke continued writing about the case in his Oregonian column until leaving the paper in 1994; he now writes for the Portland Tribune and continues to cover the case there.

In February 1991, prior to Gable's conviction, the Michael Francke story was featured on an episode of the TV program Unsolved Mysteries.