Bulletin: Curtis Lovelace: Illinois; Accused of killing his first wife, Cory, in February 2006, he returns to court Friday with his new defense team from the Exoneration Project at a motion hearing in preparation for Lovelace's retrial following a mistrial (hung jury); 'He didn't commit a crime, and there was no crime committed," says Jon Loevy, who will make his first appearance on the case on Friday.' (May 20, 2016)..." Lovelace, 47, is accused of suffocating his first wife, Cory D. Lovelace, with a pillow in February 2006. He has been jailed since an Adams County grand jury indicted him on Aug. 27, 2014. He has been in jail for more than 600 days, spending most of that time in the Hancock County Jail in Carthage because of safety concerns if he were lodged in the Adams County Jail. Lovelace is a former Adams County assistant state's attorney. Lovelace's first trial, which lasted two weeks, ended in early February with Hardwick declaring a mistrial after a hung jury." Herald-Whig.

Photo caption; "Curtis Lovelace walks down a hallway at the Adams County Courthouse with Sheriff’s Department personnel during his first murder trial early this year. Lovelace is accused of killing his first wife, Cory, in February 2006. Lovelace returns to court Friday with his new defense team from the Exoneration Project at a motion hearing in preparation for his retrial..."Jon Loevy's reason for getting his Exoneration Project involved in Curtis Lovelace's first-degree murder trial is simple. "The injustice of the situation was the primary appeal," Loevy said. "He didn't commit a crime, and there was no crime committed. ... This is an opportunity to stop a wrongful conviction before there is a conviction." Loevy will make his first appearance in Lovelace's case during a motion hearing Friday in Adams County Circuit Court. The 9:30 a.m. hearing in front of Judge Bob Hardwick will feature several key arguments as the case moves toward a retrial, scheduled to start July 25. The defense is seeking a reduction in Lovelace's $5 million bond and has asked the court to provide transcripts from the first trial to Lovelace's defense for free. The prosecution opposes the issuing of free transcripts, and special prosecutor Ed Parkinson said after Lovelace's last court appearance in March that the state would like to see a "substantial bond" in the case. Lovelace, 47, is accused of suffocating his first wife, Cory D. Lovelace, with a pillow in February 2006. He has been jailed since an Adams County grand jury indicted him on Aug. 27, 2014. He has been in jail for more than 600 days, spending most of that time in the Hancock County Jail in Carthage because of safety concerns if he were lodged in the Adams County Jail. Lovelace is a former Adams County assistant state's attorney. Lovelace's first trial, which lasted two weeks, ended in early February with Hardwick declaring a mistrial after a hung jury. Loevy will serve as lead counsel for Lovelace's new defense team. He will be joined by Tara Thompson, a partner at Loevy & Loevy and one of the leaders of the Exoneration Project, and former Adams County Chief Public Defender Ed Downey. Based in Chicago, the Exoneration Project handles cases with a combination of attorneys, University of Chicago law students, interns and volunteers. Since its inception in 2007, the Exoneration Project has helped free 14 people who had been in prison."

http://www.whig.com/article/20160504/ARTICLE/305049582/1366