STORY: "Exonerated man's ordeal ends: 'I am overwhelmed with joy,'" by reporter Lisa Black, published in the Chicago Tribune of January 7, 2012.
GIST: "A wrongfully convicted man who spent 20 years in prison for rape and battery had a happy final day in court today as Lake County officially dropped the final charge in a case that dates back to 1986. "I don't even have any words. I am overwhelmed with joy. It's finally over," said Bennie Starks outside the Lake County courthouse this morning, minutes after all the details related to dropping the case had been ironed out.........Starks, 53, who lives in Chicago, spent 20 years in prison for raping and battering a 69-year-old woman in Waukegan before DNA pointed away from him and he was freed on bond in 2006 pending a new trial on the rape charge. The victim identified Starks as her attacker, authorities said his jacket was found near the scene and bite marks on the woman matched him. His attorneys have called the dental evidence into question, and he said his jacket had been stolen from him. He was freed six years ago after DNA evidence indicated the woman had had sex with someone else and appeals judges ordered a new trial. Prosecutors continued to pursue the rape charge against Starks, arguing the woman must have had consensual sex with another man, although she said the opposite at trial........."He's finally cleared his name," said Lauren Kaeseberg, an attorney who had been working with Starks since 2004 for the Innocence Project, which uses DNA evidence to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted. "He's exonerated in every way … he can move forward … now he can explain a 25-year gap in his work history."
The entire story can be found at: GIST: "A wrongfully convicted man who spent 20 years in prison for rape and battery had a happy final day in court today as Lake County officially dropped the final charge in a case that dates back to 1986. "I don't even have any words. I am overwhelmed with joy. It's finally over," said Bennie Starks outside the Lake County courthouse this morning, minutes after all the details related to dropping the case had been ironed out.........Starks, 53, who lives in Chicago, spent 20 years in prison for raping and battering a 69-year-old woman in Waukegan before DNA pointed away from him and he was freed on bond in 2006 pending a new trial on the rape charge. The victim identified Starks as her attacker, authorities said his jacket was found near the scene and bite marks on the woman matched him. His attorneys have called the dental evidence into question, and he said his jacket had been stolen from him. He was freed six years ago after DNA evidence indicated the woman had had sex with someone else and appeals judges ordered a new trial. Prosecutors continued to pursue the rape charge against Starks, arguing the woman must have had consensual sex with another man, although she said the opposite at trial........."He's finally cleared his name," said Lauren Kaeseberg, an attorney who had been working with Starks since 2004 for the Innocence Project, which uses DNA evidence to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted. "He's exonerated in every way … he can move forward … now he can explain a 25-year gap in his work history."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-bennie-starks-lake-county-charges-dropped,0,3935864.story
See Chicago Daily Herald Story at following link: "Starks' case was one of four in which Lake
County prosecutors insisted on the suspect's guilt even after DNA
suggested someone else was responsible for the crime. Murder cases involving Juan Rivera,
Jerry Hobbs and James Edwards also have imploded in the last two years
because of DNA evidence. Edwards is the only one of the three
still behind bars because he faces an unrelated armed robbery charge in
Illinois and a murder charge in Ohio. Rivera and Hobbs have filed civil
lawsuits against the county and former Lake County State's Attorney
Michael Waller because of the wrongful convictions."
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130107/news/701079824/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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 found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
