Critics say Michael Waller and his staff have ignored or played down genetic material when it points away from suspects in their cross hairs. Hobbs' five years of incarceration, they say, marked a continuation of that trend.
"Basically, they sat there for all those years in which they knew there was a DNA exclusion (of Hobbs as a suspect), and they made up tall tales about why that didn't mean a thing," said Rob Warden of Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions, which has tangled with Waller's office over DNA evidence in another case.
REPORTER JOHN KEILMAN: CHICAGO TRIBUNE;
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BACKGROUND: The northern Illinois man jailed on first-degree murder charges in the 2005 stabbing deaths of his daughter and another young girl was freed early in August, 2010, after prosecutors dropped charges because DNA evidence from the crime scene matched that of another man. Hobbs, 39, had pleaded not guilty in the stabbing deaths of his 8-year-old daughter, Laura, and her friend, 9-year-old Krystal Tobias in Zion, about 50 miles north of Chicago. Prosecutors in Lake County had several months earlier that DNA from the crime scene matched another man who once lived in Zion but was in custody in Virginia after being charged in two attacks on women. The DNA match came on June 25 from a national database, where the man's DNA had been recently entered, according to Lake County Deputy State's Attorney Jeffrey Pavletic. Prosecutors then relaunched their investigation. The man in custody in Virginia has not been charged in the 2005 Zion deaths. In May 2005, Jerry Hobbs reported finding the girls' bodies near their homes in Zion. Both had been stabbed numerous times. Prosecutors alleged Hobbs killed them because he was angry his daughter was outside when she was supposed to be home. Police said Hobbs confessed to the slayings, but his attorneys said the confession was coerced.
Both defense attorneys and prosecutors have acknowledged there was no physical evidence linking Hobbs to the killings.
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"Jerry Hobbs' release Wednesday was the latest double-helix-shaped twist for the Lake County state's attorney's office, whose handling of DNA evidence has stirred several potent controversies," the story by reporter John Keilman, published in the Chicago Tribune on August 4, 2010 begins, under the heading, "Waller draws fire again: Veteran prosecutor has been involved in controversy surrounding high-profile DNA cases."
"Critics say Michael Waller and his staff have ignored or played down genetic material when it points away from suspects in their cross hairs," the story continues.
"Hobbs' five years of incarceration, they say, marked a continuation of that trend.
"Basically, they sat there for all those years in which they knew there was a DNA exclusion (of Hobbs as a suspect), and they made up tall tales about why that didn't mean a thing," said Rob Warden of Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions, which has tangled with Waller's office over DNA evidence in another case.
But Waller said his office does not slight the importance of DNA. Some local defense lawyers vouched for him, saying he has proved himself to be fair, open-minded and willing to change directions when the evidence demands it.
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"I have no allegiance to these guys and I battle them daily, but I have never found them to violate the oath they take as public prosecutors or to be politically motivated," said Albert Wysocki, a defense attorney who recently saw prosecutors drop theft charges against one of his clients.
Waller has been Lake County's state's attorney for 20 years, following time as a lower-ranking prosecutor and a stint in private practice. He is married to a retired Circuit Court judge and has two sons.
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, a fellow Republican who once worked in the office, said Waller has earned a good reputation in the ranks of law enforcement.
"He's somebody who has been a straight shooter and tries to do the right thing," he said.
Waller has won election five times, usually with little trouble, and Lake County GOP Chairman Bob Cook said the prosecutor would win again if he runs in 2012.
"I think the voters think he has done a very good job," Cook said.
That has remained true, Cook said, even with several high-profile DNA controversies that have popped up in recent years.
Bennie Starks served 20 years for a 1986 rape but was released on bond and awarded a new trial in 2006 after genetic evidence from the victim was found not to fit his profile.
Juan Rivera has been convicted three times for a 1992 rape and murder, most recently in a 2009 trial that followed a finding that semen found in the body of the victim, 11-year-old Holly Staker, did not come from him.
In both of those cases, which are still being contested, Waller's office has argued that other evidence pointed to the men's guilt and that the presence of someone else's DNA could have other explanations.
"It's very significant evidence, but it has to be evaluated in light of all the other evidence in the case," Waller said.
Jeff Urdangen, who represented Rivera for the Center on Wrongful Convictions, said Waller has shown an unseemly willingness to charge ahead even when contradicted by DNA.
"You'd never find anybody who approaches the kind of attitude Mike Waller has in these cases," he said.
Tom Briscoe, a former prosecutor who practices in Waukegan, said Waller has run his office with integrity.
"He's very professional," Briscoe said. "And I think he takes these cases very seriously. He has standards, and he trusts his assistants to follow them. Sometimes, people are going to misjudge what's going on."
Tribune reporter Dan Hinkel contributed to this report."
The story can be found at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/ct-met-waller-sidebar-0805-20100804,0,6885699.story
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
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