Access Restricted to Northwestern Law CommunityFalse Confessions
A Report of Northwestern University Bluhm Legal Clinic’s
Children and Family Justice Center
By Steven A. Drizin
During the past several years, I have compiled a list of false confession
cases from throughout Illinois to help make the case for the need
to videotape all custodial interrogations of suspects and to support
legislative efforts to get a mandatory videotaping requirement passed
into state law. The source of much of the information in this document
is newspaper articles and reports concerning false confessions.
Because many communities throughout the state of Illinois have newspapers
which cannot be obtained through electronic database, these cases
represent only a fraction of the total number of false confessions
throughout the state.
The list is broken down into two large groups: children and adults. Children are defined as persons under the age of eighteen. Those groups are further divided according to categories set out in a landmark investigation of false confession cases conducted by Professors Richard A. Leo and Richard J. Ofshe. Richard A. Leo and Richard J. Ofshe, The Consequences of False Confessions: Deprivations of Liberty and Miscarriages of Justice in the Age of Psychological Interrogation, 88 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 429 (1998).
These categories are as follows:
Children
Proven False Confessions |
Highly Probable False Confessions |
Probable False Confession
Adults
Proven False Confessions |
Highly Probable False Confessions |
Probable False Confession |
Other Credible Claims of False Confessions
Proven False Confessions: Confessions where “the confessor’s innocence was established by at least one dispositive piece of independent evidence.” For example, a defendant’s confession was classified as proven false if the murder victim turned up alive, the true perpetrator was caught and proven guilty, or scientific evidence exonerated the defendant. Not only was the confessor definitively excluded by dispositive evidence, but the confession statement itself also lacked internal indicia of reliability. Any disputed confession cases that fell short of this standard – no matter how questionable the confession and no matter how much direct or circumstantial evidence indicated the suspect was innocent -- was excluded from this category.” Id. at 228.
Highly Probable False Confessions: Confessions where “the evidence overwhelmingly indicated that the defendant’s confession statement was false. In these cases, no credible independent evidence supported the conclusion that the confession was true. Rather, the physical or other significant independent evidence very strongly supported the conclusion that the confession is false. In each of these cases, the confession lacked internal reliability. Thus, the defendant’s statement is classified as a highly probable false confession because the evidence led to the conclusion that his innocence was established beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id.
Probable False Confessions: Confessions where “no physical or other significant credible evidence supported the conclusion that the defendant was guilty. There was evidence supporting the conclusion that the confession was false, and the confession lacked internal indicia of reliability. Although the evidence of innocence in these cases was neither conclusive nor overwhelming, there were strong reasons -- based on independent evidence -- to believe that the confession was false. Cases are included in this category if the preponderance of the evidence indicated that the person who confessed was innocent.” Id.
This is a work in progress. Nothing demonstrates this more than the fact that many new false confession cases have surfaced after we had prepared this Report. The newest of these developments are listed in bold below.
We hope that this list serves to show the necessity of opening a window into interrogation procedures utilized throughout the state of Illinois. The fact that these false confession cases occur throughout the State demonstrates that this is a statewide problem calling for a statewide solution. It is not just a Chicago or Cook County problem. The Illinois Senate recently passed by a bill to require taping of all custodial interrogations in murder case by a vote of 58 to 0. The House passed a similar bill by a vote of 77 to 34. It is expected that once differences between House and Senate versions are ironed out, the bill we go to Governor Rod Blagojevich for his signature. At this time, it is unclear whether he will sign the bill. The bill is far from perfect. It contains numerous exceptions to the taping requirement and it remains to be seen whether these exceptions will swallow the rule. If the bill becomes law, however, Illinois will become the first state in the United States to legislatively require the taping of interrogations. To date, only Minnesota and Alaska require taping by virtue of state Supreme Court decisions. This will be a historic first step which should make it easier for other jurisdictions to pass taping statutes.
For information about other false confessions from Illinois and other
states, click here.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE FOUR-PART SERIES – COPS AND CONFESSIONS –
EXPOSES MANY OTHER FALSE CONFESSIONS AND PROBLEMATIC INTERROGATIONS.
To access the eries, for a limited time, click
here.
The stories chronicle how 247 Cook County murder cases were compromised
by coercive and illegal police interrogation tactics, that numerous police
officers from Chicago and Cook County have repeatedly closed murder cases
with dubious confessions that imprison the innocent while killers go free,
and how police officers in Chicago and Cook County have repeatedly flouted
the law while interrogating, juveniles, disregarding decades old safeguards
and building murder cases that later fall apart. New false confessions
(proven, highly probable, or probable) highlighted in the series (and
some older false confessions) which were not previously part of this report,
which focused only on murder cases, are included below.
CHILDREN
Proven False Confessions
Calvin Ollins and Marcellius Bradford (Omar Saunders and Larry Ollins)
“They threatened to do things and got me thinking they could do them...One said he would smack me in the mouth if I didn’t cooperate. Another said they would put me in jail...Then they told me I would go home if I gave them what they wanted. I thought I knew the streets a little bit, but it turned out I was just a little kids who didn’t know nothing...They got me good.”
Lori Roscetti, a medical student at University of Illlinois-Chicago’s Rush Medical School, was raped and murdered on October 18, 1996. Three months after her death, Chicago police arrested and charged four teenagers with the murder and rape: Omar Saunders, Marcellius Bradford, Larry Ollins and Calvin Ollins. Bradford, age 17, confessed and testified against Larry Ollins in exchange for a deal which enabled him to be released after serving 12 years in prison. Calvin Ollins, a learning disabled fourteen year old, allegedly confessed after detectives told him he could go home. Bradford has since recanted his confession. Calvin Ollins has said that he was pressured by police to confess and told that he could go home if he confessed. Information uncovered by the Chicago Tribune has shown that the account of the murder to which Ollins and Bradford testified matched a theory of the case and a profile of the killers developed by an FBI profiler. After several rounds of DNA testing failed to link any of the defendants to the murder, Omar Saunders, Larry Ollins, and Calvin Ollins were freed on December 6, 2001 after serving 15 years in prison. (Bradford remains behind bars on an unrelated charge). Only 2 months after the Roscetti 4 were released from prison, two other suspects confessed to killing Lori Roscetti. Their DNA matched the specimens found on Roscetti. They are awaiting trial.
New Developments: On Wednesday, October 16, 2002 Gov. George Ryan pardoned Ollins, Bradford, Saunders, and Ollins, just two days prior to the 16th anniversary of Roscetti’s murder. The pardon was unopposed by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. The wrongful convictions of the Roscetti 4 acted as a personal eye-opener for Cook County State’s Atty. Richard Devine who admitted, “In certain cases, an individual can confess to crimes they didn’t commit.” Reflecting on the Roscetti 4 Devine announced his support for state Sen. Barack Obama’s bill requiring audio or videotaped interrogations of murder suspects, if the recordings are for court use. Additionally, Devine stated that his office would be reviewing nearly 100 convicted murder cases to see if DNA had gone untested, regardless of whether the defense submitted a request for the testing and which side it may aid.
See, e.g., Steve Mills, Maurice Possley, and Kim Barker, 3 Roscetti Inmates Walk Free, Chi. Trib., Dec. 6, 2001; Maurice Possley and Steve Mills, DNA Test Rules Out Roscetti Inmates, Chi. Trib., Nov. 14, 2001; Carlos Sadovi, DNA Test Fails to Link Four Inmates, Chi. Sun-Times, Nov. 21, 2001; Janet Rausa Fuller, Roscetti’s Ordeal Retraced, Chi. Trib. Feb. 9, 2002; Maurice Possley and Steve Mills, Governor Pardons Roscetti 4; Action Paves Way for Ex-Inmates to Get Compensation from State Fund, Chi. Tri., Oct. 17, 2002; Dave Orrick, State’s Attorney Plans Review of DNA in Cases, Chi. Daily Herald, Feb. 19, 2003.
The Ryan Harris Case (Two Unnamed Children Falsely Arrested)
In perhaps the most notorious false confession case in Illinois, seven and eight-year-old boys were charged with murdering eleven-year-old Ryan Harris in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood in July of 1998. One boy was only 50 inches tall and weighed 50 pounds. The other was just under four feet tall, weighed 60 pounds, and suffered a speech disorder which made it difficult for him to communicate. Exactly what happened when the two boys were questioned at the police station remains unclear. Their parents claim that the boys were kept at the station for several hours, during which time the families did not realize the boys were suspects. It is known that the police officers spoke to the boys separately, reminding them of the difference between “good boys” and “bad boys,” holding the boys’ hands, and feeding them happy meals. Police also have explained that the boys’ stories kept changing, something which made them seem suspicious to the interrogators. Through the course of several interrogations, the boys were questioned by at least four different detectives, including Detective James Cassidy, who is involved in at least one other case involving a disputed confession obtained from a juvenile. The police claim they were able to obtain confessions from the two boys, who were arrested and charged with murder. The children were sent to Hartgrove Hospital’s psychiatric unit where they spent four days being examined. Following the psychiatric examinations, the boys had to sit through court hearings, and finally were sent home with electronic monitoring anklets that had to be refitted so that they would not slide off of their small legs. Three weeks after they were allowed to return home, lab results showed that semen was on the panties of Ryan Harris. As the two boys were simply two young to have produced semen, the charges against them were dropped in September 1998. Although the Chicago police have never acknowledge the boys’ innocence, the DNA was later shown to be a perfect match with Floyd M. Durr, an adult already charged with sexually assaulting three other young girls in the Englewood neighborhoods.
New Developments: In November 2002, the Illinois Appellate Court denied a request for a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations of police misconduct in their interrogations into the murder of Ryan Harris. This decision will likely be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. Floyd Durr’s trial for murdering Ryan Harris continues to face great delays as the defense attorney argues that the boys’ false confessions be admitted to suggest an element of doubt, while the prosecutor states their irrelevance.
See, e.g., Alex Kotlowitz, The Unprotected, The New Yorker, Feb. 8, 1999, at 42; Jonathan Eig, Making Them Talk, Chicago, Jan. 1999, at 52; Bid Rejected for Probe in ’98, Chi. Trib., Nov. 27, 2002; Jeff Coen, Appeals Expected to Delay Durr Trial, Chi. Trib., Oct. 30, 2002.
Paula Gray
In 1978, Paula Gray implicated 4 men in the murders known in Chicago as the “Ford Heights Four.” Gray, 17 at the time of the murders, had an IQ of approximately 70, indicating mild retardation. Gray claimed that she saw the 4 men commit the murders, but later recanted her testimony, and claimed that the police had told her what to say. Initially, Gray’s conflicting statements led to her conviction for rape and murder along with the 4 men, but the conviction was reversed on appeal after 8 years in prison. She then testified against the 4 men at a retrial in the 1980’s, and pled guilty to perjury for her conflicting statements. The 4 men were officially exonerated in 1996 using DNA evidence and confessions from the real killers. Gray’s odyssey through the court system lasted a total of 23 years. In March 1999, the 4 men won $36 million in a civil suit against the city. In July 2001, a judge threw out Gray’s perjury conviction, citing the miscarriage of justice throughout the Ford Heights Four case, which included prosecutorial suppression of evidence. Gray’s civil suit against the city remains pending.
New Developments: Gov. George Ryan pardoned Gray on November 14, 2002 while speaking at Northwestern University School of Law, effectively eliminating prosecutors’ perjury suit against Gray.
See, e.g., Ken Armstrong, Judge to Toss Out Conviction, Chi. Trib., July 10, 2001, at Metro Pg. 3; Robert Becker, Ford Heights 4 to Get Their Settlement from County, Chi. Trib., Mar. 16, 1999, at Metro Pg. 3. Ford Heights 4 figure pardoned; Douglas Holt and Steve Mills, Woman Surprised by Ryan Action, Chi. Trib., Nov. 13, 2002.
Mario Hayes
Seventeen-year-old Mario Hayes was arrested for murder along with five other juveniles in October 1996. Hayes and three of the other juveniles claim that during the interrogations, Chicago police officers physically mistreated them until they confessed. Several of the boys reported being slapped, kicked and punched. One boy states that he was locked in a locker at one point. Mario’s twin brother, Marcus, even contends that at one point he was brought a glass of urine to drink after requesting water. There were six state’s attorneys present during the confessions following the interrogations, and each statement was court-reported. Not only did Hayes confess to the murder, but several of the other boys stated in their confessions that Hayes was present (and therefore at least a portion of their confessions were false as well). A judge refused to grant Hayes bond because of these confessions. That decision was made in spite of Cook County Jail records which showed that Hayes was incarcerated on the night of the murder and therefore could not have participated in the crime. In December of 1998 the confession was suppressed based on the jail records. The State failed to dismiss charges against Hayes, however, claiming that the jail records were improperly kept. A mistrial was declared in the first trial, because the jury was deadlocked at 11-1 favoring acquittal. The jury in his second trial found Hayes not guilty on June 7, 1999.
See, e.g., Steve Mills, Cops Launch Inquiry into Confession: Probe Focuses on Man Charged in Fatal Beating, Chi. Trib.., May 1, 1998, at 4. Steve Mills & Maurice Possley, ‘Killer’ in Jail When Crime Committed; Teen Accuses Cops of Coercing Him into Admitting Guilt, Chi. Trib., Apr. 29, 1998, at 1.
Charlie King
Charlie King, a seventeen-year-old mentally retarded boy with an I.Q.
of 57, confessed to strangling a nine-year-old in East St. Louis in July
1992. King was employed at the child’s school, where he worked as
a janitor. The written confession was the result of three days of interrogations,
during which time King asked for crayons and coloring books. King was
held for thirteen months, during which time attorneys attempted to determine
if he was competent to stand trial. While King was in jail, two more children
were killed, leading to the arrest of Lorenzo Fayne, who also worked at
the school with King. Fayne confessed to those two murders and those of
three other children -- including the child that King was purported to
have killed. Charges against King were dropped on August 18, 1993.
See, e.g., Confession of Multiple Child Killer Frees Retarded Man After Year of Confinement, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 12, 1998 at A7.
Don Olmetti
At sixteen-years-old, Don Olmetti was arrested in early 1997 for the shooting
and killing a teacher while trying to steal her purse. Olmetti, who is
borderline mentally retarded, was at a police station for eighteen hours
before confessing to the crime. Olmetti claims that police beat him and
forced him to sign the written confession. Olmetti spent two years in
the Cook County Jail, in spite of the fact that the State was aware of
alibi witnesses as early as April 1997. Additionally, attendance records
placed Olmetti in school at the time of the murder. Murder charges were
finally dropped against Olmetti in 1999.
See, e.g. James Hill, Youth Jailed for 2 Years Goes Home, Chi. Trib., May 21, 1999, at 1; Diane Struzzi, Murder Case Dropped, Teen Still Held, Chi. Trib., May 18, 1999.
CHILDREN
Highly Probable False Confessions
A.M.
An eleven-year-old boy, with no prior criminal background and with no history of violence, was convicted in Chicago in October 1994 of murdering his eighty-three-year-old neighbor. At the time of the murder, A.M. was only ten years old. The only evidence against the boy was an oral confession he gave to Detective James Cassidy, the same detective who obtained the alleged statements from the two little boys in the Ryan Harris case (above). The initial confession was obtained by Chicago police outside of the presence of the boy’s attorney, parents, relatives, or a youth officer, after a 2-day interrogation. A hearing into whether the boy’s confession was voluntary is currently being conducted in the United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. At the time of the murder, the victim was 5’7” tall and weighed 173 pounds, and the boy was just over 5 feet tall and weighed under 100 pounds. The victim had been beaten about the head and face, her body was dragged throughout her apartment, she had been tied up with rope and a phone cord which had been ripped from the kitchen wall, and her throat had been slit. No fingerprints left in the apartment matched the boy’s. An adult size partial footprint and a palm print left at the scene also could not be linked to the boy.
New Developments: On June 19, 2002, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer threw out A.M.’s murder conviction stating that his arrest was illegal, that the confession was improperly obtained, that prosecutors failed to protect A.M.’s rights, and that his trial lawyer was ineffective. Pallmeyer found that the police used coercive tactics and failed to question A.M in the presence of his parents or a police youth officer. Pallmeyer restated that the confession was the only evidence against A.M. and that several inconsistencies existed between his statement and the evidence at the crime scene.
See e.g., Charles Nicodemus, Confession Uncoerced, Cop Says, Chi. Sun-Times, Jan. 13, 2000 at 16; Maurice Possley, Officer in Harris Case Coaxed Similar Confession in ’94, Chi. Trib., Sept. 10, 1999, at 1; Terry Wilson, Boy Held in Slaying of Woman; Hate is Seen as Motive in Death of 84-Year-Old, Chi. Trib., Sept. 7, 1994, at 1; Steve Mills, Boy’s Conviction Thrown Out: His Confession to 1993 Killing Ruled Improper, Chi. Tri., Jan. 14, 2003.
Eddie Huggins
In Chicago on January 15, 1998, Eddie Huggins was arrested for murder. During the hours long interrogation that followed, there was no attorney or parent present to help Huggins, who was only fifteen years old at the time. Huggins claimed that he was intoxicated when arrested and that throughout the interrogation police officers threatened him. Finally giving up at 4:00 a.m., Huggins signed a four-page written confession in which he admitted stabbing a woman to death. The only problem was that the medical examiner found no stab wounds on the victim’s body. In spite of that glaring contradiction, as well as the fact that no physical evidenced linked Huggins to the crime, Huggins spent over a year in jail awaiting trial as an adult for the murder. The State even went so far as to accuse Huggins of stabbing the woman during its opening statement at Huggins’ trial. Fortunately, Judge Thomas Sumner threw out the confession and acquitted Huggins of the murder. Judge Sumner refused to submit the case to a jury, directing a verdict of not guilty at the close of the State’s case. Following the acquittal, the State has not brought charges against the youth who originally accused Huggins, even though blood from the victim was found on that youth’s jacket and he has a history of assaulting women.
See, e.g., Eddie Huggins Finally Goes Free, Chi. Trib., May 1,1999; James Hill, No Knife Wounds Found in ‘Stabbed’ Body, Chi. Trib., Apr. 29, 1999; Maurice Possley & Steve Mills, Little Adds Up in Murder Case; Youth Admits Stabbing; Autopsy Shows No Knife Wounds, Chi. Trib., Mar. 21, 1999.
Dustan Pennington
Sixteen-year-old Dustan Pennington was arrested for the murder of a motel clerk in East Alton in 1988. Pennington claims that he signed a written confession only after police threatened him with life imprisonment during thirteen hours of interrogation. Pennington testified at his trial in January 1989 that he was so upset during the interrogation that he did not even read the confession prior to signing it. Pennington’s mother also claimed that police officers told her that Pennington did not need an attorney. Additionally, witnesses placed Pennington elsewhere during the murder, and another man charged with the same murder claimed that Pennington was not at the scene during the crime. Pennington was acquitted at trial and two other men were charged with the crime.
See, e.g., Charles Bosworth, Jr., Suspect at Motel is Indicted, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 10, 1989; Robert Kelly, Murder Suspect Says He Confessed Due to Threats, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 24, 1989.
Daniel Taylor
17-year-old Daniel Taylor signed a 29-page confession at 5:52am, after hours of interrogation, taking responsibility for a double murder in the Uptown area around 9pm on December 16, 1992. The eyewitness to the murders insisted that Taylor was not one of the 4 men that she had seen leaving the murder scene, despite police pressure that she corroborate the confession. Immediately upon learning that he had been charged with the murders, Taylor asserted an alibi: he was in police custody at the time of the deaths. The police checked their records, and found that he was in the county jail on a disorderly conduct charge from 7-10pm on the night of the murders. However, the police did not release him; rather, they sought to establish that their records were incorrect and that Taylor had not been in their custody at the time of the killings. At trial, a drug dealer testified that he had seen Taylor around 7pm in the vicinity of the murders. He later recanted his testimony, stating that police had promised him leniency on a drug charge in return for his testimony against Taylor. Two police officers testified that Taylor had assisted them around 9:30pm in locating the son of a woman they had arrested; however, the officers did not file a report of the arrest, or of Taylor’s presence, until two weeks after Taylor asserted his alibi, a month after the murders. In addition, the woman whom they arrested that night remembered that the police had not left her apartment until 10:30pm that night, as they stayed in her apartment to watch themselves in a feature on the late-night local news, corroborated by the television network. Nonetheless, Taylor was convicted on the basis of this evidence and his confession, and has spent more than 8 years in jail. Taylor insists that he confessed to the murders after police threatened him and hit him with a flashlight.
New Developments: The Tribune’s recent interviews with Taylor’s co-defendants and a possible witness bolster his claims of innocence. Co-defendant, Dennis Mixon gave a detailed account of the murder, stating that Taylor and the other co-defendents were not connected to the crime, and that he initially met them in prison. Co-defendant, Grimes informed the Tribune that he lied about Taylor for leniency in an unrelated narcotics case, which is supported by court records. Additionally, statements from an eye witness positioned outside the building where the murder took place and Mixon’s former girlfriend further support Taylor’s innocence. Mixon told the Tribune that he had drugs on his possession at the time of his arrest, and that he swallowed the drugs in an effort to keep them hidden. The drugs made Mixon sick and vulnerable to police coercion. He stated that the police told him that he could leave, if he told them what they wanted to hear. Mixon fully conceded his presence at the scene of the crime, and further stated that he can identify the man who actually shot the victims.
See, e.g., Steve Mills, Maurice Possley, and Ken Armstrong, Cops and
Confessions: When Jail is No Alibi in Murders, Chi. Trib. Dec. 19. 2001
at 1; Steve Mills and Maurice Possley, New Double Cast on Verdict; Inmate
Disputes Guilt of 4 Others Convicted of ’92 Double Murder, Chi.
Trib., Jan. 2, 2003.
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CHILDREN
Probable False Confessions
Michael Davenport and Richard Phillips
17-year-old mentally disabled Michael Davenport confessed to killing Cleophas Ziegler, a 68-year-old man, in 1984. Richard Phillips also confessed to participating in the killing of Ziegler. Phillips agreed to implicate Davenport in exchange for a reduced sentence. The witness to the crimes saw two men shoot Zeigler as he was exiting his car, with the killer wrapping the gun in a jacket in order to muffle the sound. The police saw Phillips and Davenport walking near the scene a short time later, with Davenport wearing a jacket which matched the description. The two confessed upon questioning, which both say was coercive and abusive, and that police lied that each of the others had confessed in a separate room. There was no physical evidence linking either man to the crime; the jacket was not tested for gun residue. Davenport received a 75-year sentence (had he been 18, he would have been eligible for death), which he is still serving, while Phillips received a 20-year sentence and has been released on parole.
New Developments: Davenport filed an appeal when Phillips admitted he lied at trial, along with a request that the jacket be tested. Initially, Cook County judge Vincent Gaughan held that the new evidence was filed 30 days too late. Following a motion to reconsider, Gaughan reversed his decision stating that the dismissal was premature. However, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2003, Judge Gaughan again denied Davenport’s motion for a new trial arguing that key witness Phillips’ testimony was inconsistent and lacking credibility, due to his recent drug convictions. Phillips again testified that the police physically abused and coerced him into falsely confessing to the crime and accusing Davenport of being his partner in the act. Gaughan also continues to deny forensic testing of the jacket, agreeing with prosecutors that such post-conviction testing is not permitted unless the procedure was not available at the time of trial. The attorney has been appealing Davenport's case for more than a decade, trying to admit the evidence that Davenport's trial counsel did not interview alibi witnesses, and did not bring up at trial that the murder witnesses did not identify either Davenport or Phillips in a lineup.
See, e.g., Steve Mills and Maurice Possley, Prisoner’s Bid to Clear
Name Hits Roadblock, Chi. Trib., Mar. 31, 2002, at 1; Maurice Possley,
Ex-Inmate Charges Cops Harass Him, Chi. Trib., Apr. 30, 2002, at Metro
Pg. 3; Linnet Myers, $35 Murder, 75-year Sentence, Chi. Trib., May 14,
2002 at Metro Pg. 2; Cook Judge Rejects Retrial for Convicted Killer,
Robber, Chi. Trib., Feb. 27, 2003; Maurice Possley, Convicted Killer has
a Door Open; Judge Grants Bid for New Hearing, Chi. Trib., Sept. 27, 2002.
Back to Top
ADULTS
Proven False Confession
Aguirre, Omar (with Edgar Duarte-Santos, Robert Gayol, and Ronny Gamboa)
In July 1997, Chicago store owner Sindulfo Miranda was tortured and killed. Several months later, Miguel LaSalle was questioned by police regarding the murder, and in turn told police he knew of five men who had been responsible for the crime. The men were Omar Aguirre, Robert Gayol, Edgar Duarte Santos and Ronny Gamboa. The five men were either strangers, it turned out, or mere acquaintances of each other. Omar Aquirre, a Mexican immigrant working to send money back to his family in Mexico, was brought in for questioning after LaSalle implicated him. He was interrogated over three days, was struck by police officers and thrown into a corner. He spoke barely any English and believed the confession he eventually signed, which was in English, was a release for him to go home. "They were always coming back and asking me" about the crime, Aguirre told an interpreter, "I just kept telling them I didn't know what they were talking about." Aguirre’s “confession” implicated Santos as well. Aguirre was convicted of murder by a jury and sentenced to 55 years in 1999. After spending four years in prison awaiting trial, Santos pled guilty and received a reduced sentence. Ortiz (who was 19 at the time) decided to cooperate with police and by testifying against Gayol and Gamboa. Gayol was convicted and given a life sentence; Gamboa was acquitted. Ortiz, having pled guilty, was given a 25 year sentence. In December 2002, prosecutors released Aguirre and Santos after charging LaSalle with lying about the five men’s involvement. They simultaneously accused a band of gang members with the killing. Gayol remains in prison on unrelated burglary charges and Ortiz remains in prison for a subsequent stabbing at the Cook County Jail.
See e.g., David Heinzmann and Jeff Coen, Jailed by Lies, Freed by Trut” Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2002.
Corethian Bell
Corethian Bell, a mentally disabled young man living in South Chicago, confessed to the July 2000 stabbing death of his own mother. Bell had an IQ of 74, and had only completed school through the 8th grade. Police arrested Bell at home shortly after he called the police to report that she had been shot. Bell claims that the police yelled at him, and hit him so hard that he fell off the chair. After an interrogation lasting 50 hours, he confessed on videotape. He told his attorneys he believed that, when he told a judge the truth, he would be released. Students and professors at the University of Chicago, who knew Bell as a kind and innocent man who enjoyed playing pool in the university lounge, noticed his absence around the school and followed his case.
New Developments: Through volunteer action and free representation by university professors, Bell’s attorneys conducted DNA tests in early 2001 on the blood spatters in the apartment, which led to a man with prior convictions for assaults in the same neighborhood. Police only dropped the charges against Bell in the spring of 2002. The MacArthur Justice Center and the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School recently filed a suit against the City on Bell’s behalf seeking more than $50,000 as remedy for “malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy.” Futterman, an attorney for Bell, stated that Bell’s case emphasizes the need for videotaping police interrogations in their entirety. Futterman noted, “What happened to Mr. Bell during the 50 hours of ‘interrogation’ before the police decided to turn on the video cameras?” As of July, 2002 the man who’s DNA matched the blood in the apartment had not yet been charged.
See, e.g., Ken Armstrong, Steve Mills, & Maurice Possley, Cops and Confessions: Coercive and Illegal Tactics Torpedo Scores of Cook County Murder Cases, Chi. Trib. Dec. 16, 2001, at 1; Steve Mills, Man Sues Police, Alleging Coercion, Chi.Trib. July, 16, 2002; Man Coerced Into False Confession Files Suit Against Chicago Police; Spends 17 Months In Jail Despite DNA Evidence Proving Innocence, U.S. Newswire, July 15, 2002.
Colleen Blue
A nine-and-one-half pound newborn baby boy’s body was discovered near a dumpster behind a Dominick’s grocery store in Round Lake Beach in August. There were no witnesses. In order to solve the crime, the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force had no choice -- they had to find the baby’s mother. Quickly, investigators began to focus their attention on Colleen Blue, a homeless woman with a history of psychiatric problems. Blue had disappeared around the time of the baby’s death. Word on the street was that she had told several people she was pregnant before she disappeared. On September 16, Blue resurfaced. During an interrogation by Lake County detectives, Blue confessed. Allegedly, she told police that she delivered the baby near the Dominick’s, cut the umbilical cord with a scissors, placed the still-crying baby in a large bag, covered him with a piece of clothing, and left the bag next to a dumpster. On the basis of this confession, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Blue with first degree murder.
New Developments: Blue was held in the Waukegan County Jail until October 26, 2001. On that date, however, all charges were dismissed against her. DNA taken from the dead baby did not match Blue’s, conclusively proving that she was not the mother.
See, e.g., Jerry Lawrence, Woman Cleared in Baby’s Death, Chi.
Trib., Oct. 17, 2001; Tony Gordon, DNA tests clear woman of abandoning
baby, Daily Herald, Oct. 28, 2001.
Sang Kim
Sang Kim was brought into the station for questioning regarding the battery of his pregnant girlfriend, Elizabeth Xiong, in the spring of 1997. 21-year-old Kim was handcuffed to the wall in a sparsely furnished room for an hour, until police removed the handcuffs and began questioning him about his battery of Xiong. Kim denied physically assaulting Xiong, and repeatedly asked for his lawyer. Police ignored the repeated requests. At the end of a 30-hour interrogation, Kim agreed to confess; when he confused the facts of the story, police yelled at him. He eventually signed a confession to a misdemeanor, handwritten by the prosecutor, with filled-in blanks for the crime and victim which stated “battery” and “Xiong”. However, police immediately booked Kim for the murder of Xiong’s baby, whom Xiong claimed had been born stillborn as a result of the assault. The child’s birth, much less death, was never mentioned during Kim’s interrogation; Kim did not know that the baby had been born at all. According to Kim, police changed the crime and victim on the confession after he had signed it to read “battery and death” of “Xiong and baby”. Other than the confession, the police had no evidence against Kim – the forensics expert had not examined Xiong for evidence of assault, having merely taken her word that the premature delivery was a result of assault. In the fall of 2000, three years after Kim entered police custody, before the trial, Xiong admitted that she had lied about the assault, and that Kim had not touched her. He was released, and has since filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police.
See, e.g., Ken Armstrong, Steve Mills, & Maurice Possley, Cops and Confessions: Coercive and Illegal Tactics Torpedo Scores of Cook County Murder Cases, Chi. Trb. Dec. 16, 2001, at 1.
Peter Williams (with Harold Hill and Dan Young, Jr.)
All three men, who did not know one another at the time, confessed to the 1990 murder of Kathy Morgan. While Williams’ confession was more detailed than that of the other two men, Williams had an alibi which proved his confession false – he was in jail at the time. Although DNA evidence of the blood on Morgan did not match to any of the three men, Hill and Young were both convicted on the strength of their confessions and are serving life terms. Both men maintain that they are innocent.
New Developments: Hill and Young have received permission to have additional DNA testing.
See, e.g., Maurice Possley, New DNA Tests Set in ’90 Killing, Chicago Tribune, Feb. 17. 2002, at Metro Pg. 1.
Girvies Davis
Girvies Davis, a functionally illiterate 20 year old whose social
history is filled with terms like “retarded” and “quite
slow intellectually” was executed by the State of Illinois in May
of 1995 for the murder of Charles Biebel. On August 30, 1979, Davis and
17 year old Richard Holman were arrested after holding up the State Street
Auto Supply in East St. Louis, Illinois. While in custody, Davis was interrogated
relentlessly, and according to authorities confessed to more than a dozen
crimes – robberies, attempted murders, and murders -- including
the Biebel murder. Authorities maintain that Davis wrote a jail guard
a note saying he wanted to confess to the list of murders and robberies
and that his signature on the bottom of the written confessions was voluntary.
Davis claims that he was taken on a midnight ride from his cell and that
he was driven to an out of the way place where his handcuffs and leg irons
were removed. He maintains that authorities then gave him a choice: either
sign the confessions or start running, in which case he would be shot
for escaping. Davis admits involvement in at least two of the auto parts
store robberies but police linked a duo of other thieves to at least three
of the crimes. Prosecutors admit that many of Davis’s confessions
were demonstrably false and in fact, convicted two other men, Keith Harris
and Bryan Lawrence, for some of the crimes. Altogether, the state believed
that Davis did not commit seven of the crimes he allegedly confessed to.
See Dennis Byrne, Commute Davis Death Sentence , Chi. Sun-Times, May 14, 1995, at 33; Alex Rodriguez, A Life of Crime Worth Saving?, Chi. Sun-Times, May 7, 1995, at 6; Don Terry, Diverse Group Tries to Stop Illinois Inmate’s Execution, New York Times, May 11, 1995, at A14.
Ralph Frye (Joseph Burrows)
Joseph Burrows is one of the thirteen Illinois men who were convicted of murder and sentenced to death row for crimes they did not commit. Burrows was convicted of killing William Dulin, an 88 year old man from Iroquois County. He was framed by Gayle Potter, the real killer, who murdered Dulin by herself, but blamed the crime on two accomplices, Burrows, and Ralph Frye, a friend of Burrows’s. Critical to Burrows’ conviction was Frye’s tape-recorded confession in which he admitted to killing Dulin with Burrows and Potter. According to Frye, Investigator Robert George coerced the confession, threatening to lock him up for a long time and feeding him details of the crime one by one which he repeated back on the tape. Frye even insists that George stopped the tape several times so that he could adjust his story to fit the actual facts of the crime. Frye was an easy mark, groggy from sleeping pills he had taken before being interrogated, and severely learning-disabled with an I.Q. of 76 (borderline mentally retarded) Frye’s story evolved from the time of his confession to the time of Burrows’ trial, in part because he repeatedly rehearsed his testimony with Potter, who was inexplicably placed in a jail cell next to Frye’s. Over a period of weeks, Potter “scared the living daylights” out of Frye, convincing him that any inconsistencies between their stories would lead them both to death row. Frye’s testimony was critical to Burrow’s conviction at his second trial (the first ended with a hung jury). Frye himself was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison. After Burrows’ conviction, Gayle Potter recanted her testimony and admitted to killing Dulin herself. Frye also recanted (he had recanted several times in the past). Burrows was freed in September 1994 after the judge granted his motion for a new trial in light of the evidence. Shortly thereafter Frye was released. His murder charges were dismissed but he had to plead guilty to perjury.
See e.g., Barry Siegel, The Framing of Joe Burrows: The Story that Sent him to Death row for Murder; Changed Many Times from the Day it was told by his Accuser, A Woman Known for her Convincing Lies. But the Justice System has Decided He was Guilty and It Took A Lawyers’ Bond with a Sociopath to Set Him Free, Los Angeles Times, Sunday Magazine, Dec. 18, 1994. Man Settles Lawsuit In Wrongful Jailing, Ass. Press, Chic. Trib., Aug. 13, 1997, at 9. Jeffrey Bils, Death Row Battle Ends In Freedom, Chi. Trib., Sept. 9, 1994, at 1; Former Death Row Inmate sees Charges dropped in ‘88 Slaying, Chi. Trib., July 4, 1986, at 3.
LaVale Burt
“They say, ‘You’re a smart ass. You ain’t gonna tell what happened.’ I kept tellin them, “I dunno what happened.’ They slap me around, in the face, a lot of body shots, but that is not what made me give the confession. I gave it because I got scared. I thought I was gonna get convicted of something I didn’t do.’ “The detective was sayin, ‘You’re stupid. Nobody believe you meant to do it. You know everybody know you’re not a baby killer. You got a good background, and you’ll get off with involuntary manslaughter and probation.” So LaVale Burt, a 19 year old Chicago boy confessed to firing the bullet that killed 2 year old Charles Gregory. He even agreed to a motive -- that he was firing at a friend of the child’s mother, Carolyn Collins, who was scheduled to testify against one of Burt’s associates in a upcoming trial. Burt then repeated his confession to Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Troy and a court reporter the next day. The day after Burt was found guilty in a bench trial in front of Judge Ronald A. Himel, Judge Himel received an unusual phone call. The call was from Josephine Collins, the maternal grandmother of Charles Gregory, the boy who was killed. Ms. Collins told Himel that after learning at trial that her daughter, Carolyn Collins had gunpowder residue on her hands, she checked a .22 caliber pistol in her home and found a bullet missing. Himel sent police to pick up the pistol and a ballistics exam indicated that in all probability the gun was the murder weapon. Judge Himel reopened the case and despite all of the facts favorable to Burt and unfavorable to Carolyn Collins, the lead prosecutor John T. Groak, continued to maintain that Burt did it. After a brief hearing, Himel concluded otherwise, dismissing the verdict against Burt. Charges were never reinstated against Burt nor were charges brought against Carolyn Collins.
See e.g., Rob Warden, LaVale Burt - Victim of Modern Form of Torture, Lawyer at Large, Chi. Lawyer, Jan. 1987, at 3-4; Rosalind Rossi, Convicted Man Free on New Facts in Boy’s Death, Chi. Sun-Times, Dec. 11, 1986, at 7; Linnet Myers, A Conviction Unravels in Tot Killing, Dec. 11, 1986, at 1; Philip Wattley, Man Held in Murder of Boy, 2, Chi. Trib., Sept. 21, 1985, at 7.
Rolando Cruz
Rolando Cruz spent 11 years on death row for the abduction and murder of a child, Jeanine Nicarico, in DuPage County in 1983. He was tried and convicted twice of the crime and twice sentenced to death; both trials were overturned on procedural grounds. In his third trial in 1995 a key State’s witness, Lieutenant James Montesano, recanted his earlier testimony that he was informed by Cruz’s interrogators that Cruz gave a “dream statement” in which he related details of the crime only the killer could know. Montesano testified that he had actually been out of state at the time of Cruz’s interrogation, so could not have been told of the alleged statement -- a confession which was neither videotaped nor even mentioned in police records. Additionally, there was no other physical evidence nor any witnesses linking Cruz to the crime. After hearing the Lieutenant’s recantation, DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Mehling delivered a verdict in Cruz’s favor, ending the ordeal. On September 26, 2000, the DuPage County Board and State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett reluctantly agreed to pay Cruz and two others $3.5 million to settle their civil lawsuits. Gov. Ryan pardoned Cruz on December 19, 2002, making him eligible for another $100,000. Only a year after Cruz was first incarcerated, another man, Brian Dugan, confessed to killing Nicarico after pleading guilty to raping and killing another girl and a woman. DNA tests conducted last fall pointed to Dugan with statistical certainty while once again excluding Cruz as a possible perpetrator. Dugan will only supply an admissible confession if prosecutors agree not to seek the death penalty – an offer which they quickly denied. Gov. Ryan publicly criticized DuPage prosecutors for failing to charge Dugan with the murder. Prosecutors are expected to request a grand jury to indict Dugan before the year ends.
See e.g., Ken Armstrong & Christi Parsons, Half of State’s Death-Penalty Cases Reversed; A Variety of Errors Found in 130 Trials, Chi. Trib., Jan. 22, 2000, at 1; Man Jailed 12 Years is Freed in Trial for Girl’s Killing; Acquittal Comes After Twice Being Convicted, Balt. Sun, Nov. 5, 1995 at 18A; John Chase, Angry DuPage Settles Cruz Suits, Chi. Trib., Sept. 27, 2000 at 1; Editorial, Chi. Daily Herald, Feb. 27, 2003; Christy Gutowski, Celebrating Jeanine The Nicarioco Murder, Unsolved After 20 Years, is Cited as Proof the Death Penalty System is Broken, Chi. Daily Herald, Feb. 24, 2003; Steve Mills and Maurice Possley, Decision Day for 156 Inmates; Ryan Poised to Make History After 3 Years of Debate on Death Penalty, Chi. Trib., Jan. 12, 2003; Jimmy Greenfield, Less Than Perfect; In a One-on-One Interview with RedEye, Former Death Row Inmate Rolando Cruz Comes Out on the Death Penalty, the System that Administers it and the Society in Which it Exists, Chi. Trib., Jan. 15, 2003; Steve Mills and Christi Parsons, The System Has Failed, Chi. Trib., Jan 11, 2003.
New Development: Rolando Cruz was officially pardoned By Governor George Ryan on December 19, 2002.
See e.g., Steve Mills and Ray Long, Cruz, 2 Others Pardoned: Ryan says 3 Men Were Victims of ‘Justice System Run Amok,’ Chi. Trib., Dec. 20, 2002.
Derrick Flewellen
Derrick Flewellen confessed to murdering two women in 1995. DNA tests of semen taken from one of those victims, however, was matched in late 1999 to a serial killer on death row for six other murders. No DNA linked Flewellen with the second victim either, even though Flewellen stated in his confession that he had performed a sex act with the woman (her death was initially classified as undetermined but possibly the result of a severe lung infection – it was upgraded to murder only after Flewellen confessed). Flewellen claims he gave the statement because Chicago police detectives coerced and beat him during an interrogation. A friend of Flewellen’s who was outside of the interrogation room during police questioning of Flewellen has stated that he heard screaming and noises consistent with Flewellen’s allegations of being beaten. The State contends that Flewellen gave eight oral statements and a final written statement confessing to the crimes. Given the DNA evidence, however, Judge Marcus Salone acquitted Flewellen in November 1999.
New Developments: Flewellen is expected to receive $250,000 from the City of Chicago to settle his lawsuit, which claims that the officers framed him for the 1995 deaths of the two women.
See, e.g., Maurice Possley, DNA Topples Case Built on Confessions, Chi. Trib., Dec. 1, 1999, at 1; Frank Main, Man Sues, Says Police Framed Him, Chi. Sun Times, June 2, 2000; Maurice Possley and Gary Washburn, City to Settle with Man Forced to Confess, Chi. Trib. June 14, 2002.
Gary Gauger
In 1993, when Gary Gauger’s parents were found brutally murdered on their farm in Richmond in McHenry County. The police focused their investigation on Gauger because he claimed to have been sleeping near where the bodies were found. He was intensely questioned for over 15 hours, during which time police told him they had irrefutable proof that he had killed his parents. Trusting in the officers, Gauger stated that for that to be possible, he must have blacked out because he did not remember committing the crime. Police helped Gauger reconstruct what he might have done. Those statements were considered a confession and used to convict Gauger of the murders. He spent a year on death row and three and a half years in total behind bars until an appeals court overturned his conviction because the confession had been improperly obtained. Charges have since been brought against a motorcycle gang for the murders of Gauger’s parents after two members of the gang spoke of committing the crime over wiretapped phone lines. One of the gang members has pled guilty.
See e.g., Ken Armstrong & Christi Parsons, Half of State’s Death-Penalty Cases Reversed; A Variety of Errors Found in 130 Trials, Chi. Trib., Jan. 22, 2000, at 1; Indictment Vindicates Victim’s Son, The Capital Times (Wis. St. J.), June 11, 1997 at 2A Gary Gauger, Personal Essay, Audiotape of firsthand account of interrogation available as part of WBEZ’s Chicago Matter’s Seeking Justice series. Essay can be downloaded as audiofile, click here.
New Development: Gary Gauger (and Rolando Cruz and Steve Linscott) was pardoned by Governor George Ryan in December 2002.
See e.g., Steve Mills and Ray Long, Cruz, 2 Others Pardoned: Ryan says 3 Men Were Victims of ‘Justice System Run Amok,’ Chi. Trib., Dec. 20, 2002. Adam Lasker, First one, Then Another…Then Everyone, Chi. Daily Law Bulletin, Jan. 13, 2003, Amy Nevala, 2 Pardoned Ex-Inmates Urge Interrogation taping: Former Slaying Suspects Praise Ryan for Pardons, Chi. Trib., Dec. 21, 2002.
Andre V. Jones
In September, 1979, Andre V. Jones confessed to a murder in St. Clair County. Jones claims that the police officer who conducted the interrogation, Robert Miller (see Gregory Bowman, below), made veiled threats against Jones’ family and a girlfriend, bribed him with money added to his jail account, and gave him Valium. He also alleges that Miller showed him autopsy and police reports that enabled Jones to give details which matched the crime in part. The confession, handwritten by Miller, was extremely detailed. Ironically, the level of detail helped Jones in the end as a grand jury did not believe the confession because so many of those details did not match the facts of the crime. In 1985 a St. Louis man, Glennon E. Engleman, pled guilty to the murder.
See, e.g., Bill Smith & Charles Bosworth, Jr., Deputy’s Tactics Spurred Questions, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 25, 1999, at B1.
Ronald Jones
Ronald Jones confessed to raping and murdering a woman on Chicago’s South Side in 1985. Jones claims the confession came only after police interrogators beat him. Jones was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in 1989. In 1997 DNA tests revealed that the semen found on the victim did not belong to Jones. Prosecutors dropped the charges two years later and Jones was released from jail in May 1999 after spending fourteen years in prison. He is currently seeking a pardon but the State’s Attorneys office is not backing his request. The State contends that Jones is still a suspect under the theory that someone else had raped her and then Jones killed her.
New Development: Gov. Ryan pardoned Ronald Jones on June 19, 2000.
See, e.g., Ken Armstrong & Steve Mills, Flawed Murder Cases Prompt Calls for Probe, Chi. Trib., Jan. 24, 2000, at 1. Steve Mills, Ex-Inmate Seeks Pardon in ’85 Murder, Rape Case, Chi. Trib., Jan. 5, 2000, at 3. Eric Zorn, DNA Evidence Continues to Cast Doubt on Retrial, Chi. Trib., Nov. 27, 1997, at 1; Ray Long and Steve Mills, 3 Ex-Death Row Inmakes Can Sue State After Pardons By Gov. Ryan, Chi. Trib., June 20, 2000.
Steven Linscott
When police came to the halfway house that Steven Linscott worked at in Oak Park, he told them he had a dream the night before in which he saw a man attack and kill a black woman. Some of the details of the dream were similar to a murder that happened the night before to a white woman living next door. The police took the “dream” as a confession and eventually Linscott was convicted of the rape and murder of the woman. He spent three and a half years in prison before his conviction was overturned when tests showed that the DNA left at the scene belonged to someone other than Linscott. Charges against him were dropped, but the State has never admitted that Linscott is innocent. The prosecutor in Linscott’s case was now Judge John Morrissey, who has recently been criticized for ridiculing requests for DNA testing of evidence, including a refusal to allow Ronald Jones (above) DNA testing performed on evidence. DNA testing at a later date would show he was uninvolved in the rape.
New Developments: Steven Linscott was pardoned by Gov. Ryan on December 19, 2002. A day later Steven Linscott and Gary Gauger called for mandatory videotaping of police investigations to avoid false confessions and wrongful convictions.
See, e.g., After 12-Year Ordeal, He Finally Has Found Peace, St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 30, 1994 at 12A; Adam Lasker, First one, Then Another…Then Everyone, Chi. Daily Law Bulletin, Jan. 13, 2003, Amy Nevala, 2 Pardoned Ex-Inmates Urge Interrogation taping: Former Slaying Suspects Praise Ryan for Pardons, Chi. Trib., Dec. 21, 2002.
Gregory Clepper
On January 31, 2001, the Chicago Tribune revealed that alleged
confessed serial killer Gregory Clepper, charged with 14 murders of South
Side women and suspected in as many as 40 -- a man likened by police and
prosecutors to John Wayne Gacy -- may be innocent of 13 of those murders.
According to the article, Cook County prosecutors are prepared to drop
charges in 12 of the remaining 13 cases in which Clepper had confessed.
Eric Ferkenhoff, Maurice Possley, and Steve Mills, Lab tests unravel 12
murder cases, Chicago Tribune, January 31, 2001, Metro Chicago, at 1.
Earlier this year, charges were dropped against Clepper in connection
with the murder of an unidentified woman whose body had been found in
an alley on 47th Street. On May 3, 2000, police arrested and charged another
man, Earl Mack Jr., with the murder of this woman on 47th Street. DNA
evidence linked Mack to the victim and Mack subsequently gave a videotaped
confession to the murder. On March 21, 2001, Gregory Clepper pled guilty
to a single murder charge and prosecutors dropped 12 other charges against
him. It’s unclear how many of these cases were dropped because Clepper’s
confessions were absolutely false but prosecutors have admitted as much
by stating that details that Clepper failed to match the evidence in several
of these cases and that the DNA of a single individual found on several
of the victims did not match Clepper.
See, e.g., Janan Hanna, Suspect in 14 killings cleared in 1, DNA links woman’s death to another man, Metro Chicago, Chi. Trib., May 5, 2000, at 1; Janan Hanna and Terry Wilson, Questions arise over links made in serial killings: Roseland slayings put focus on methods used in investigation, Chi. Trib., July 5, 2000, Metro at 1.Maurice Possley and Eric Ferkenhoff, Slaying Suspect Cuts Deal, Avoids Death, Chicago Tribune, March 21, 2000 at 1.
Miguel Castillo
On January 19, 2001, Miguel Castillo was finally freed from prison, 11 1/2 years after he was wrongfully convicted of a murder the authorities now concede he did not commit. New forensic evidence, which demonstrates that the victim, Rene Chinea had been killed while Castillo was locked up in jail on a burglary charge led prosecutors to agree to Castillo’s release. Janan Hanna, No New Trial For Man Freed in Killing; He May Have Been in Jail During 1988 Slaying, Chicago Tribune, January 19, 2001, at 1. Prosecutors, after reviewing new forensic evidence, agreed with the defense contention that Castillo was locked up in Cook County jail on a burglary charge at the time that Rene Chimea was murdered. Janan Hanna, No New Trial For Man Freed in Killing; He May Have Been in Jail During 1988 Slaying, Chicago Tribune, January 19, 2001, at 1. Miguel Castillo’s case had long been shrouded in controversy. As we noted in our earlier Report, the only evidence against him was an alleged spontaneous oral confession to an arresting officer. The alleged confession was never repeated to detectives who picked up the case or an Assistant State’s Attorney from Felony Review. The police officer who interrogated Castillo was not fluent in Spanish and at the time Castillo could not speak English. Castillo has also claimed that he was beaten during the interrogation, and two of the three officers involved were later disciplined for brutalizing suspects in other cases. At trial, the State’s own medical expert testified that it was likely that the victim had died before May 11, the date on which Rivera was released from jail. In addition, the victim, who had regular contact with friends, family, and co-workers, suddenly disappeared on May 7, 1988. Recently, the judge on the case, Judge John Morrissey, has stated that he has long had doubts about Castillo’s guilt, and granted Castillo’s lawyers a hearing at which they were able to present additional expert evidence that Castillo was in jail at the time of the murder. It was this hearing that led to the most recent ruling.
New Developments: Miguel Castillo was pardoned by Gov. Ryan on January 11, 2003.
See, e.g., Judge Takes Himself Off Another Case, Chi. Trib., Jan. 22, 2000, at 5; New Judge Named to Hear Appeal of Murder Conviction, Chi. Trib., Jan. 21, 2000, at 14; Steve Mills & Ken Armstrong, Judge Under Fire Takes Himself Off Murder Appeal; Morrissey Once Called Convict’s Lawyer’s ‘Idiots’, Chi. Trib., Jan. 15, 2000, at 1; Steve Mills, Lawyers Seeking New Murder Trial Ask Judge to Step Down, Chi. Trib. 3, Dec. 16, 1999 at 3; Eric Zorn, ‘Glitch’ Shows Margin is Slim in Ryan’s Calls, Chi. Trib., Jan. 11, 2003.
Hubert Geralds
On February 11, 2000, the Chicago Tribune carried a story on
its front page about Hubert Geralds, a mildly mentally retarded man who
was convicted of six murders in 1997. Geralds was sentenced to death.
Convictions on two of those murders were based solely on Geralds’
confessions, including the murder of Rhonda King. The Cook County State’s
Attorneys’ Office now believes that King was killed by Andre Crawford,
who was recently charged with a string of murders in Chicago’s Englewood
neighborhood. Crawford confessed on videotape to King’s murders
and provided more detail than did Geralds. The State has moved to vacate
all six of Geralds’ convictions and plans on retrying him in at
least five of these cases.
See, e.g., Steve Mills and Terry Wilson, State Says it Convicted Wrong Killer, Chi. Trib., Feb. 11, 2000.
Teresa Sornberger
Teresa Sornberger, a twenty eight year old Knox County woman
who falsely confessed in writing to a bank robbery with her husband, Scott
Sornberger. She and her husband each spent 118 days in county jail before
being freed after a state legislator, on a fluke, saw a television newscast
about a bank robbery in a nearby town in which the suspect bore a striking
resemblance to Sornberger. The FBI investigated this information and discovered
from surveillance tapes that the same man had robbed both banks. The man,
though resembling Sornberger, was not Sornberger. Sornberger claims she
confessed only after police threatened to call DCFS to have her children
removed from her. The judge disbelieved this testimony and admitted the
confession into evidence. Knox County State’s Attorney Paul Mangieri
announced after the truth came to light that Sornberger’s case “shows
the system works.” Moreover, Sornberger had to plead guilty to obstructing
justice for giving false information to authorities.
See, e.g., Karen McDonald, Couple Cleared in Heist, Peoria Journal Star,
May 11, 2000; Editorial, False Confession Demands Review of Interviewing
Tactics, Peoria Journal Star, May 15, 2000; Karen McDonald, Not Telling
the Truth: False Confessions Happen for a Variety of Reasons, Peoria Journal
Star, May 27, 2000 at A1.
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ADULTS
Highly Probable False Confession
Gregory Bowman
Gregory Bowman confessed to murdering two women in separate incidents in Belleville in 1978. Police officer, Robert Miller, enlisted a jail-house snitch, Danny Stark -- a man selected because of his abilities as a con artist -- to approach Bowman to tell him he would help Bowman escape if he confessed to the two murders (Bowman had been arrested for another crime for which he was in jail at the time). This plan was developed after Miller learned of Bowman’s fear of being sent back to prison. Bowman agreed to the plan because he was sure he had solid alibis for both killings. He and Stark read newspaper articles to develop a story. Additionally, Bowman claims that Miller fed him additional details of the crimes by providing police reports to Bowman during his confession, which was secretly tape recorded by Miller (although Miller denies providing those reports, a box containing police reports and a number of newspaper articles was found in the home of Bowman’s father, who states Bowman gave him the box at some point during his trial). Bowman recanted his confession, however, a few days later when Stark didn’t show up to help him escape. His punishment for recanting was to be placed in solitary confinement by Miller. Later after a stipulated bench trial, which Bowman’s attorney agreed to in order to avoid the death penalty, Bowman was sentenced to life without parole. Clyde Kuehn, States Attorney at the time Bowman was tried, agrees that this trick might have been enough to make an innocent man confess, and certainly would be enough to have a confession suppressed. With no confession and no physical evidence linking Bowman to the crimes, it is likely charges would have been dropped. Additionally, a former FBI investigator specializing in serial killings believes that the murders were not committed by Bowman because they do not fit his criminal profile, but do fit the profile of Dale R. Anderson, who may be involved in a number of murders in the Belleville area (see Rodney Woidtke). Anderson’s car was similar to one used in one of the killings, whereas Bowman’s vehicle did not match. Anderson also knew one of the victims from church. There are also witnesses who can provide Bowman alibis on the nights of the murders. Unfortunately, DNA evidence which might have helped clear Bowman was destroyed, likely to make room for newer evidence. In spite of this, Bowman is currently serving life without parole for the murders. In June 1999 Bowman filed an appeal seeking a new trial based in large part on Miller’s admission that he tricked Bowman into confessing. An order was issued granting Bowman the right to gather evidence to support his case, but the St. Clair County State’s Attorneys office failed to comply with the order and sought to remove the judge from the case.
See, e.g., Carolyn Tuft, Judge Won’t Step Down in Appeal in Murder Cases, As Prosecutors Had Sought He Orders State’s Attorney to Turn Over All Evidence this Week, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 23, 1999, at B4. Carolyn Tuft, Prosecutors Have Not Obeyed Evidence Order in St. Clair County Case, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 13, 1999, at 7; Carolyn Tuft, Bowman Claims Innocence in Killing of Two in Belleville, Seeks New Trial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 6, 1999, at C7; Carolyn Tuft, Into the Dark Side, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 3, 1999, at G1; Carolyn Tuft, Box of Articles Could Back Up Convict’s Claim, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 26, 1999, at D1; Carolyn Tuft, DNA Evidence from ’78 Murders was Destroyed; Gregory Bowman Sought Testing to Prove Innocence; Test Wasn’t Available 20 Years Ago, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 26, 1999, at D1; Carolyn Tuft, Girl’s Friends Say Wrong Man is in Prison 20 Years Later; Questions Remain in the Slaying of Belleville 14-Year-Old Elizabeth West, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mar. 15, 1999, at D1; Bill Smith & Charles Bosworth, Jr., Deputy’s Tactics Spurred Questions, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 25, 1999, at B1; St. Clair County Deputy Admits Tricking Murder Confession Out of Suspect in ’78, State J.-Reg. (Springfield, Ill.), Feb. 23, 1999, at 8; Editorial, Murderous Mistakes?, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 23, 1999, at B6; Carolyn Tuft & Bill Smith, Deputy Admits Tricking Convict into Confessing, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 22, 1999, at A1; Murders Shocked Belleville, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 22, 1999, at A7; Carolyn Tuft & Bill Smith, Serial Killer? The Victims, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 21, 1999, at A1.
New Developments: On April 16, 2001, St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Richard Aguire ordered a new trial for Bowman. Bowman has been serving two life without parole sentences for the murders of Ruth Ann Jany, age 21, and Elizabeth West, age 14. New evidence uncovered by the St .Louis Post-Dispatch – that Bowman was tricked into confessing when Robert Miller, a St. Clair County Sheriff’s deputy, planted a snitch in Bowman’s cell and told the snitch to talk Bowman into confessing by promising that he would break Bowman out of jail -- was instrumental in the court decision. After a hearing, during which Miller denied telling two reporters that he had used the ruse, the judge found the reporters to be more credible, holding that such a ruse is the type of police overreaching that could result in a false confession. An FBI profiler, Robert Ressler, who interviewed murderer Dale Anderson, believes that Anderson killed West and Jany, based on Anderson’s connections to both victims and statements he made to Ressler during the interview. Following the 2001 ruling for a new trial prosecutors said that a DNA test conducted on new evidence would support their allegations. Bowman immediately volunteered to take the blood test and hired an expert to verse the procedure. On the day the testing was to be conducted the state contended that there was not enough evidence to examine. Bowman’s expert disagreed with the state’s conclusion, but the state refused to conduct the DNA test.
See, e.g., Carolyn Tuft, Inmate Wins New Trial in 2 Killings, Deputy Got Confession Improperly, Judge Rules, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 2001; Carolyn Tuft, Appeals Court Upholds Retrial for Bowman: Deputy “Coerced” Confession in Two Killings, Judges Find, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 31, 2002; Criminal Law & Procedure, Chi. Daily Law Bulletin, Jan. 15, 2003.
Rodney Woidtke
In June 1988 Audrey Cardenas, a young intern at the Belleville News-Democrat was murdered in Belleville. Police arrested Rodney Woidtke, a mentally ill homeless man, for the murder. After police questioning, Woidtke confessed. His court appointed public defender waived a jury trial and Woidtke was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison. At the time, Woidtke’s attorney was also representing another man, Dale R. Anderson, on several minor matters. Anderson seemed particularly interested in Cardenas’ murder, told people he was helping police investigate the crime, and kept files on the ongoing murder investigation. He claimed that Cardenas was killed by his supervisors at the Illinois Department of Public Aid. Just prior to Woidtke’s sentencing, Anderson broke into a home and killed a pregnant mother and her three-year-old child. Before murdering the woman, Anderson forced her to write a note stating that his bosses were responsible for the Cardenas murder. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch hired former FBI serial killer expert Robert Ressler to investigate the matter. Given the location and condition of her body, as well as the fact that Cardenas’ own physical attributes match a pattern of murders in the Belleville area (two of which Gregory Bowman, above, was convicted of), Ressler is convinced that Anderson killed Cardenas. Even some of those involved in the initial investigation believe Woidtke was not involved, including the lead crime scene investigator. In spite of these facts, and the fact that no physical evidence linked Woidtke to Cardenas’ death, Woidtke has remained in prison for the past ten years. Woidtke’s attorneys moved for a new trial based on this evidence and it was rejected. Most recently a motion claiming that Woidtke’s lawyer had a conflict of interest was denied in 1999. On April 26,2000, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed the trial court’s denial of Rodney’s post-conviction petition, finding that Rodney was entitled to a hearing on his claim of freestanding innocence and that the a per se conflict of interest existed in Rodney’s attorney’s representation of Rodney and Dale Anderson, the chief suspect in the Cardenas murder. In a scathing concurrence, Justice Maag condemned the actions of the trial court and counsel in allowing Rodney’s post-conviction petition to languish for years without a hearing. People v. Woidtke, No. 5-99-0331 (5th Dist, 2000), available on-line. St. Clair County prosecutors have decided recently to retry Woidtke. His trial is scheduled for October, 2000.
New Developments: Rodney Woidtke Is Finally Free After 12 Years: On March 30, 2001, it took less than three hours for a St. Clair county jury to return a verdict of not guilty in Rodney Woidtke’s second trial for the murder of Audrey Cardenas. Imprisoned for over twelve years for a crime which many, including some of the police investigators involved in his arrest, believe was committed by another man, serial killer Dale Anderson, Woidtke was convicted in 1989 after a bench trial and sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was granted a new trial in April, 2001. Woidtke, who is mentally ill and was off his medication at the time of his arrest, was picked up by officers who found him walking around the crime scene. Over the course of hours of lengthy interrogations, Woidtke gave three confessions to investigators who recorded only a portion of his last confession on tape. The confessions were filled with errors about how the murder was committed. He later recanted these confessions. No physical evidence tied Woitke to the crime.
See Jennifer A. Bowen, Woidtke Acquitted, Belleville News Democrat, March
31, 2001. Patrick E. Gauen, “I’m just thankful for a fair
trial,” St.Louis Post-Dispatch, March 30, 2001.
Recently, Woidtke’s suit seeking damages was dismissed by U.S. District
Judge Herndon on the basis that the statute of limitations had run. Woidtke’s
laywer plans to appeal, stating that the countdown began with Woidtke’s
acquittal on March 30, 2001. The defense contest that the countdown began
when Woidtke’s conviction was overturned in May 2000. Herndon never
addressed the merits of the suit.
For a complete set of articles on the Woidtke case, see the St. Louis
Post Dispatch Special Report “Who
Killed Audrey Cardenas?”
See also, Carolyn Tuft, Hearing is Delayed in Bid for New Trial in Belleville
Murder; Rodney Woidtke Says He is Innocent of 1988 Killing, St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, Feb. 4, 2000, at A10. Carolyn Tuft, Bowman Claims Innocence
in Killing of Two in Belleville, Seeks New Trial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
June 6, 1999, at C7; Carolyn Tuft, Into the Dark Side, St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
June 3, 1999, at G1; Carolyn Tuft, Judge Denies Woidtke New Trial; Lawyers,
Family Will Launch Appeal, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 15, 1999, at
B1; Editorial, Murderous Mistakes?, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 23,
1999, at B6; Carolyn Tuft & Bill Smith, Serial Killer? The Victims,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 21, 1999, at A1; Carolyn Tuft & Bill
Smith, Baricevic Testifies He Didn’t Consider Anderson a Suspect;
Lawyers Seek New Trial in Killing of Reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
Feb. 2, 1999, at B4; Carolyn Tuft, Rodney Woidtke Gets New Trial, St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 27, 2000; Editorial, Woidtke’s Long Wait,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 28, 2000; Carolyn Tuft, Court Orders New
Trial for Woidtke, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 28, 2000, at A1. Carolyn
Tuft and Paul Hampel, Next move in Woidtke Case is Prosecutor Haida’s,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 29, 2000, at A1; Carolyn Tuft, Woidtke Says
He Wants To Prove in Court That He Didn’t Kill Audrey Cardenas,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 2, 2000, at A-1; Michael Shaw, Judge Rules
Rodney Woidtke Waited too Long to Sue St. Clair County, Lawyers Over Case,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 16, 2002; Law & Order, St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
Dec. 18, 2002; Law & Order, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept. 5, 2002.
Anthony Moody
The Tribune carried another story on April 4, 2000, about Anthony Moody, a thirty four year old man who had been jailed for three years on charges that he had murdered his girlfriend by choking her to death. After spending at least 24 hours in police custody, Moody confessed to choking his girlfriend to death and leaving her body in an abandoned building on the South Side. He later claimed that his confession was coerced. DNA tests revealed, however, that Stevenson’s body bore light traces of Moody’s DNA (Moody claimed he slept with his girlfriend two or three days before she was found dead) and much heavier traces of DNA from another man (who police had in custody on other rape and murder charges). Prosecutors dropped murder charges against Moody in exchange for a plea to aggravated battery and a recommended sentence of only five years. With credit for time served, Moody will be released from prison in a matter of weeks or months. To reconcile Moody’s confession with the DNA evidence, Cook County prosecutors claimed that the second attacker raped and assaulted the victim after Moody’s attack. Without citing any statistics to back up his claim, Bob Benjamin, spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, was quoted as saying that such scenarios “happen all the time...[p]articularly in sexual attacks, a woman is lying there helpless and another predator comes along and sees an opportunity and takes it.”
See, e.g., Vanessa Gezari, Murder charge reduced as DNA points to different
man , Chi. Trib., Apr. 4, 2000 at Metro 1.
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ADULTS
Probable False Confession
Penny Brown
In 1991, Penny Brown was arrested in Springfield for the murder of her eighteen-month-old baby daughter. The infant died of shaken baby syndrome shortly after Brown returned home to relieve her baby sitter. Brown, who is mildly mentally retarded with an IQ of 66, was interrogated by police, and signed a confession written out by a police officer in which she admitted to killing the child. Brown claims the detectives told her she could go home if she signed the paper, which she says she never read. The confession was later thrown out because the judge determined that Brown could not have knowingly and intelligently waived her Miranda rights. The ruling was upheld by the 4th District Appellate Court. The case against Brown was then dismissed because there was insufficient evidence to continue. Police have stated that they will not investigate the baby sitter even though Brown’s other children told a social worker that he was swinging the baby around by her feet and bumped her head on the floor. Brown was held in jail for three months and lost custody of her other children, which she is still fighting to regain. She sued police over the false confession and that suit was settled out of court.
See, e.g., Pat England, Brown Case Leaves Heartache and Questions, State
J.-Reg. (Springfield, Ill.), Sept. 12, 1993 at 1; Jenni Davis, Springfield
Woman Accused of Killing Baby Sues City, Police, State J.-Reg. (Springfield,
Ill.), Dec., 12, 1993 at 9.
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OTHER CREDIBLE CLAIMS OF FALSE
CONFESSIONS
Juan Rivera
Juan Rivera, a twenty year old, was convicted recently for the second time of killing Holly Staker, an 11 year old baby sitter in Waukegan. Rivera’s first conviction had been reversed on appeal. After four days of on and off interrogation, Rivera wrote out a confession which contained many details which were inconsistent with the evidence of how the crime had occurred. According to Rivera’s attorneys, after the first confession, Rivera had a psychological breakdown and began pulling out his hair and banging his head on the walls. He was placed in a padded cell and prescribed psychotropic medication. According to the authorities, Rivera gave a second more accurate oral confession before his breakdown, a fact which Rivera disputes. While he was in the padded cell, detectives approached Rivera and presented him with a police-written statement which contained details of the murder that more closely matched the crime scene. Mr. Rivera signed the statement. No physical evidence collected at the crime scene could be tied to Mr. Rivera. Additionally, a leg monitor showed that Rivera was at home during the time of the murder, although the home monitoring system’s accuracy has been called into question by the prosecution. At his second retrial, prosecutors produced a new witness who placed Mr. Rivera in the house and who identified him as the man who had stabbed Holly. The witness, an eight year old child, was only two at the time of the murder, and had not previously identified Mr. Rivera.
New Developments: The Illinois Supreme Court declined to review the appellate court’s decision upholding Rivera’s conviction.
See, e.g., John Gorman, Waller Rehires an Ex-Top Aide for Felony Unit, Chi. Trib., Jan. 28, 2000, at 3. Editorial, Letters, Justice Often Unfair to Mentally Disabled, Chi. Sun-Times, Feb. 16, 1999, at 20 Richard A. Leo and Richard J. Ofshe, The Consequences of False Confessions: Deprivations of Liberty and Miscarriages of Justice in the Age of Psychological Interrogation, 88 Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 429 Winter 1998 (classifying Rivera’s confession as “highly probable” and citing to numerous newspaper articles in the Chicago Tribune which highlight problems with Rivera’s confession); Tony Gordon, Local Prosecutors, Police Meet for Training Session on Terrorism, Chi. Daily Herald, Oct. 10, 2002.
Notes: After an earlier draft of this Report was disseminated, Lake County State’s Attorney Michael J. Waller took issue with several of the statements contained in the description of the Rivera case. He challenged the claim that Rivera was mentally handicapped, claiming that the testing was administered by a psychiatrist “hired by the defendant” and that it was shown to be flawed in several respects. He claimed that the defendant was never “questioned” in a padded cell but conceded that detectives did meet with the defendant in the cell to have him sign the typed statement they had prepared based on the verbal statement he had given them the night before. State’s Attorney Waller also quarreled with the significance of the DNA evidence which could not link a pubic hair and a piece of flesh to the defendant and also questioned the reliability of the home monitoring system which showed that Mr. Rivera was at home at the time of the killing.
We welcomed the comments of State’s Attorney Waller. Many of the statements which he challenges have been reported in the hundred of stories about the Rivera case in local newspaper coverage and in the seminal law review article on false confessions written by Professors Richard A. Leo and Richard J. Ofshe cited below. Others were provided to us by defense attorneys and were introduced with the qualifying language “according to defense attorneys.” We have included many of Mr. Waller’s comments in this most recent draft of the Report and have double-checked them with defense attorneys and our other sources.
In any event, Mr. Waller’s comments only underscore the central thesis of this Report -- that all custodial interrogations of suspects must be videotaped. Many of the facts which Mr. Waller disputes are precisely the kinds of facts which would have been captured on tape had the interrogation been videotaped, including whether Mr. Rivera’s confession was voluntary or coerced, whether he read his Miranda rights and whether he understood them and knowingly and intelligently waived them, whether he had a mental breakdown and whether this breakdown influenced his confession, and the extent of his mental handicaps and how did they play out in the interrogation. Had the interrogation been videotaped, prosecutors and defenders, the judge, and the jury could see whether Mr. Rivera knew details of the crime that “only the true perpetrator would know” or whether these facts were suggested to him by police officers during the interrogation.
Leamon Jordan
On July 20, 2000, the Chicago Tribune ran a front page story on the 1981 conviction of Leamon Jordan. Jordan, while drinking heavily with Will and Cook County investigators, told them that he assisted two other men in the kidnaping and murder of an Oak Lawn woman. The confession was written up in a police report but Jordan never signed a formal written statement. Both the investigators and Jordan agree that Jordan did not offer details of the crime until he was told of a $100,000 reward for information. The officers and Jordan disagree over whether the officers also offered Jordan immunity from prosecutions for his cooperation. Jordan, a chronic liar, has claimed that he made up the confession based on bits and pieces of information given to him by police and from his imagination. No physical evidence exist to corroborate the confession and many of the details of the confession do not square with the known facts about the crime. None of the alleged accomplices were ever charged. Based on the information in the article, a strong case can be made for classifying Jordan’s confession as a “probable false confession.”
See, e.g., William Gaines, Inmate Says he Lied way to Murder Rap, Chi.
Trib., July 20, 2000 at 1.
