STORY: "Man wrongly imprisoned for 1986 rape is finally cleared: Judge declares the innocence of man who served 20-year sentence before DNA eliminated him as suspect," by reporter Dan Hinkel, published by the Chicago Tribune on September 25, 2013.
GIST: "More than 27 years after he was first charged with rape, Bennie Starks listened Wednesday as a Lake County judge officially acknowledged his innocence. The judge's agreement to grant Starks a certificate of innocence in a 1986 Waukegan sexual assault gives closure to the longest-running of four Lake County criminal cases recently upended by DNA. Starks, who spent 20 years in prison and an additional seven arguing his innocence after he was freed, stood silent before the judge and then quietly declared it "a good day" as he and his attorneys spilled into the hall. "As they say, mazel tov!" called out attorney Jed Stone, who has represented Starks and happened upon him in the hall while walking with another client. "It's about time," Starks responded. Judge George Bridges also said he would order the crime expunged from Starks' record, which Starks, 54, said he hoped would help him land a job. The certificate could also aid his lawsuit against authorities, attorney John Stainthorp said, and it will allow him to seek as much as about $200,000 in state compensation......... Starks' odyssey through the justice system started when a 69-year-old woman accused him of dragging her into a ravine, raping and biting her. Police found his jacket nearby, though he said it had been stolen from him. He was found guilty and sentenced to 60 years in prison. Starks was granted a new trial and freed on bond in 2006 after DNA tests showed semen found inside the victim was not his. But prosecutors under former Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller planned to retry him, arguing the woman had consensual sex with someone else, though she had testified she did not. The woman died while Starks was in prison. After losing a series of court rulings pertaining to the retrial, prosecutors dropped the rape charge in May 2012. But prosecutors continued to try to hold Starks responsible for battering the woman during the same incident, seeking review by the state Supreme Court in their efforts to block him from fully clearing his name."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/ct-met-bennie-starks-innocent-20130926,0,3136586.story
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
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.
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