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."
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
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.
