A judge in Michigan strongly criticized a convict who insists they were wrongfully accused, despite being found guilty of drowning four children, according to a report.

A Michigan man convicted of murder in the drowning deaths of his four children is seeking clemency, insisting that a leg cramp caused him to hit the gas pedal and plunge his vehicle into the Detroit River.

Lawrence DeLisle, 63, was convicted in 1990 and sentenced to five life sentences without parole for first-degree murder and attempted murder in the Aug. 3, 1989 deaths of 8-year-old Bryan Delisle, 4-year-old Melissa Delisle, 2-year-old Kathryn Delisle and 8-month-old Emily Delisle, according to Fox 2 Detroit.

After crashing through a road barrier and driving their car into the river, DeLisle and his wife were able to escape – but all four children drowned. Suzanne DeLisle has claimed she tried and failed to grab the steering wheel from her husband. 

She divorced him and remarried soon after his trial. 

Lawrence DeLisle is pictured in 1989, before he was convicted in 1990. He has spent 35 years in prison, and has had no conduct issues during his long sentence, according to prison officials. He is currently incarcerated at Lakeland Correctional Facility, according to Michigan Board of Corrections data. (Fox 2 Detroit)

Meanwhile, the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan’s law school and Northwestern University’s law school are supporting DeLisle, saying the crash was an accident. “He’s not a danger to anyone, and there’s no reason to keep him in prison,” retired attorney Peter Van Hoek, who was involved in earlier appeals, told The Associated Press. 

DeLisle appealed his mandatory life sentence and lost in 1993, Fox 2 Detroit reported. 

Parole board member Anthony King, who led Thursday’s hearing, told The Associated Press that it was “hard to believe” that DeLisle did not slam on the brakes after his vehicle jerked forward.