Last year, two brothers were cleared of wrongdoing in a murder they served 25 years for but did not commit. Now, one of the men is speaking with NBC 26 to share his story.
Robert Bintz says no amount of money can make up for lost time.
“I lost a lot,” he shared with NBC 26. “I’m not young anymore.”
In October, Bintz and his brother David learned they would each receive $25,000 from the State of Wisconsin Claims Board for their wrongful murder conviction.
That’s the maximum statutory compensation that the board can award, but the board has recommended the legislature compensate each brother an additional $1 million.
“What can they seriously get with 25 grand?” asks Isaiah Eastling, the brothers’ nephew. “It’s not going to get them very far at all.”
The brothers were released from prison in September of 2024.
“Before I got out, I got a black eye,” Robert recalled.
His sister, Cindy Eastling, hardly recognized him upon his release. He was thin, weak and in need of medical attention. Cindy says $25,000 will hardly cover the expense of the brothers’ care.
"It’s honestly insulting that after 25 years of being locked up for a crime they didn’t do, the state only values their life at $25,000—and that’s less than most people make in a year,” shared Cindy.
In 2000, the Bintz brothers were sentenced to life in prison for the 1987 murder of Sandra Lison, who worked at Good Times Tavern in Green Bay.
“No way we would have gotten away with something like that,” said Robert.
He shared his account of the night she died:
“I went in there and had a soda, and my brother wanted me to buy a case of beer, so I did,” Robert stated. “I don’t remember seeing her in the bar.”
Feeling that he had been overcharged, David later called the tavern and made a threat to blow up the establishment.
Watch the full story by Jessica Goska here:
Robert claims the brothers did not return to the bar that night.
He denies ever confessing to the crime, and he says his brother never admitted to killing Lison, either.
“They said he had a dream, talking in his sleep. My brother never talked in his sleep. He never confessed to any of that,” said Robert.
Twelve years later, he was arrested and sentenced to life in prison.
“They didn’t really have anything to go on,” Robert claimed. “No physical evidence leading us to the crime. DNA didn’t match or any of that,” he said.
The brothers swore their innocence, and Robert never lost hope.
He called his family members every day. When his nephew asked, “Uncle Bobby, when are you coming home?” Robert would answer, “This year.”
It wasn’t easy to stay hopeful. In prison, he remembers a lack of cleanliness and privacy. At times, he says he was stared at and even beaten up by others.
“It was a rough 25 years,” he shared. “It’s really corrupt in there.”
In 2019, The Great North Innocence Project approached Robert with the hope of proving his innocence.
Last year, new DNA evidence tied another man, the now-deceased William Hendricks, to the crime.
“Sure enough, they exhumed the body. When I read the paper, I was so happy and blessed to see the truth,” Robert recalls.
The Bintz brothers were released from prison after nearly a quarter century behind bars.
In the year since their release, Robert says he has been “getting used to the outside world” and reconnecting with his family.
“We had our first Christmas together last December, and we had my brother David over here, too,” Cindy said. Prior to their release, she hadn’t seen her brothers in over a decade.
Robert lived with Cindy for four months after his prison release. He now rents an apartment in Wautoma.
“I don’t like it, but it’s a place to live,” he said.
He dreams of one day owning his own home, finding love and traveling the country.
“I’ve never been on an airplane,” said Robert. “[But] my friend was a truck driver, and I've seen most of the states. I just like to travel.”
With the time he has left, he also hopes to attend a Packers game.
