STORY: "Man accused of Naperville murder leaves jail for first time since 1995," by reporter Clifford Ward, published by The Chicago Tribune on June 2, 2017.
PHOTO CAPTION: "William Amor, who was convicted in 1997 of the arson death of his mother-in-law in Naperville, leaves DuPage County Jail after the conviction was vacated and he posted bond on May 30, 2017, in Wheaton. The conviction was set aside by a judge based on advances in fire science, and Amor will be retried in September."
GIST: "While he's still not a free man, William Amor was as close to it Tuesday as he has been in more than two decades. Amor,
62, walked out of the DuPage County Jail late Tuesday after posting
bond on a decades-old murder charge. It marked the first time since 1995
that Amor was not incarcerated in either the county jail or an Illinois
prison. "It's overwhelming," he told a small group of reporters. "I'm taking it hour by hour." Amor
is scheduled to be retried in September on charges that he set a fire
that killed his mother-in-law, Marianne Miceli, 40, in 1995 in her
Naperville condominium. Amor's 1997 conviction was vacated this spring
by Judge Liam Brennan, who ruled it was scientifically impossible for
the fire to have started in the manner in which Amor confessed.
With
Amor's confession that he started the fire with a cigarette on
vodka-soaked newspaper no longer credible, the judge said he lacked
confidence in the original jury verdict. Brennan reset Amor's bail at
$100,000, and supporters came up the $10,000 cash bond that freed Amor. "All I've ever asked for is the hope that someone will see the truth," Amor said. Amor
was accompanied by friends and attorneys from the Illinois Innocence
Project, which has been representing him for the last five years as he
has fought to have his conviction overturned. With his parole
scheduled for next year, he could have simply stopped pressing his case,
but Amor said he could not abide the murder conviction on his record. In
1995, Amor and his wife, Tina, then 18, lived with Tina's mother, who
was partially disabled. Amor and his wife had left the residence on
Sept. 10 to see a movie, a short time before Miceli called the Fire
Department to report the blaze. She was overcome with smoke and was
found dead by firefighters. Amor later confessed, but said the
confession was made under duress from relentless questioning and
manipulative tactics by police. Illinois Innocence Project
attorney Lauren Kaeseberg, who accompanied Amor Tuesday, said she
believes the fire started accidentally. Miceli, her daughter and Amor
were all smokers. Last week, Innocent Project attorneys filed a
court motion seeking to dismiss the indictment against Amor. His
attorneys argue that the original indictments against him were obtained
via incompetent testimony before the grand jury, and that the testimony
about the origins of the fire is "demonstrably untrue.""
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/c
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/c
