Convict cleared in '94 Waukegan slaying; 4th time DNA trumps prosecutors

[Brewman_Jax]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local...3698.story

From the article:

Quote:For the fourth time in less than two years, DNA evidence has forced Lake County prosecutors to reverse course in a violent criminal case and exonerate a man who spent years behind bars.

On Tuesday, Assistant State's Attorney Jeffrey Pavletic filed a motion supporting James Edwards' request for a new trial in the 1994 bludgeoning death of Waukegan appliance store owner Fred Reckling. That step was required before the prosecutor could file a motion dropping the murder charges, clearing Edwards after 16 years in prison.

The move comes two weeks after prosecutors cited "forensic findings" in announcing murder charges against a new defendant in the case — 42-year-old Hezekiah Whitfield of Chicago.

Edwards, 63, will not go free immediately, because he has yet to serve sentences for a local armed robbery and a murder in Ohio. He has battled to clear himself of Reckling's murder from Menard Correctional Center in southern Illinois.

...

Again, misconduct by the state has falsely convicted another person, a person of color, of course. This will stop when the laws are enforced and prosecutors get indicted for misconduct.