PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’"
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "On the night of Oct. 3, 1984, Kristina walked to Rich East High School to perform at a choir concert, according to court records. Two days later, her body was found in the bushes near a Marshall Field’s store with her pink dress disheveled and her throat cut. The discovery of her body near a downtown shopping center — a popular hangout for youths — shook the suburb. Abernathy, then of Midlothian, was not charged for more than a year. Witnesses at his criminal trial said Abernathy, who had dated Kristina, made strange comments at her funeral. An acquaintance came forward and told police that Abernathy, who was 18 when he was arrested, had confessed to him that he killed the girl. Abernathy later told authorities he approached Kristina as she walked home, tried to have sex with her and accidentally killed her with a butterfly knife, according to court records. His lawyers have said the man who implicated him recanted and said he had been pressured by police. In announcing his exoneration, Alvarez said, “I cannot, I will not let a wrongful conviction stand, and in our assessment Mr. Abernathy’s conviction was just that.” Abernathy’s suit states that he was physically and sexually assaulted in prison, where he contracted HIV. Abernathy’s mother, Ann Kolus, had long insisted on his innocence, and she was ailing when she greeted him as he walked free from Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet in February 2015. According to Abernathy’s suit, she died of cancer six months later. “He was just so thankful, actually, that he got six months with her before she died,” Hamilton said.""
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STORY: "$14 million settlement for man cleared of 1984 murder of 15-year-old girl in Park Forest," by reporter Dan Hinkel, published by The Chicago Tribune on May 1, 2019.
GIST: "Park Forest and Cook County officials have
agreed to a $14 million settlement with a man who spent 29 years in
prison for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl before he was
exonerated four years ago, records show. Prosecutors allowed
Christopher Abernathy to walk free after re-examining his conviction for
killing Kristina Hickey after she had sung in a high school choir
concert in the south suburb in 1984. In 2015, then-State’s Attorney
Anita Alvarez acknowledged that Abernathy had been wrongfully convicted
and said none of the DNA found at the scene was his.
His attorneys alleged in a 2016 lawsuit that police had pressured Abernathy, a high school dropout with learning disabilities, into confessing during an interrogation that spanned 36 hours. The DNA at the scene came from two unidentified men, according to the suit. Under an agreement signed last month, two insurers agreed to pay $13.5 million on behalf of the village and its police, according to records of the settlement provided by the National Registry of Exonerations. The village itself agreed to pay $200,000 and a private polygraph examiner who allegedly tested Abernathy after his arrest is on the hook for $1,000, the records show. Cook County officials agreed to pay $300,000 to settle claims against a prosecutor and detective from the sheriff’s office, according to the records. The authorities admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlements, which do not spell out how much money will go to Abernathy, 52, and how much to his attorneys. Abernathy continues to live in the Chicago area, said one of his attorneys, Torreya Hamilton. “He’s doing as well as can be expected, given what was taken from him, which is basically his whole life,” she said.Attorneys for the defendants either declined to comment or could not be reached. The settlements include confidentiality provisions generally barring the parties from discussing the terms. Since Abernathy’s release, no one has been charged with killing the girl. On Monday, an Illinois State Police spokeswoman said the agency has an open investigation into the murder and declined to comment.
On the night of Oct. 3, 1984, Kristina walked to Rich East High School to perform at a choir concert, according to court records. Two days later, her body was found in the bushes near a Marshall Field’s store with her pink dress disheveled and her throat cut. The discovery of her body near a downtown shopping center — a popular hangout for youths — shook the suburb. Abernathy, then of Midlothian, was not charged for more than a year. Witnesses at his criminal trial said Abernathy, who had dated Kristina, made strange comments at her funeral. An acquaintance came forward and told police that Abernathy, who was 18 when he was arrested, had confessed to him that he killed the girl. Abernathy later told authorities he approached Kristina as she walked home, tried to have sex with her and accidentally killed her with a butterfly knife, according to court records. His lawyers have said the man who implicated him recanted and said he had been pressured by police. In announcing his exoneration, Alvarez said, “I cannot, I will not let a wrongful conviction stand, and in our assessment Mr. Abernathy’s conviction was just that.” Abernathy’s suit states that he was physically and sexually assaulted in prison, where he contracted HIV. Abernathy’s mother, Ann Kolus, had long insisted on his innocence, and she was ailing when she greeted him as he walked free from Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet in February 2015. According to Abernathy’s suit, she died of cancer six months later. “He was just so thankful, actually, that he got six months with her before she died,” Hamilton said.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-christopher-abernathy-lawsuit-settled-20190429-story.html
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Read National Registry of Exonerations entry at the link below:
On October 3, 1984, 15-year-old Kristina Hickey disappeared while walking home from a high school choir performance in Park Forest, Illinois. Her body was found two days later behind a shopping mall. She had been raped and stabbed.
More than a year later, on November 30, 1985, police brought in 18-year-old Christopher Abernathy for questioning after an acquaintance, Allan Dennis, told police that several months earlier Abernathy had admitted killing Hickey. Abernathy had attended Hickey’s funeral—as did several hundred other teenagers—and was heard saying that he had a gun in his car and intended to fire a salute afterward. Police checked Abernathy out at that time, but decided the comment was not serious.
After more than 40 hours of interrogation, Abernathy, a high school dropout who had been classified as learning disabled, signed a confession saying he saw her walking home and wanted to have sex with her. When she refused, he attempted to rape her and then accidentally stabbed her with a pocket knife he had in his hand. Almost immediately, Abernathy recanted the confession and said he signed the statement because police told him he could go home to his mother if he did.
Abernathy went to trial in Cook County Circuit Court in January 1987. The evidence against him was the testimony of Dennis, who said that Abernathy had admitted the crime to him, and Abernathy’s confession.
No forensic or physical evidence connected Abernathy to the crime. Presumptive tests were negative for the presence of semen.
On January 15, 1987, a jury convicted Abernathy of first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and armed robbery. Because he was 17 at the time of the crime, Abernathy was not eligible for the death penalty. Instead, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
More than 15 years later, journalism students at Northwestern University began investigating the case and Dennis recanted his trial testimony. Dennis said that Abernathy had not confessed, but that police pressured him to implicate Abernathy. He said police promised to get him lenient treatment on some pending minor charges and gave him $300 to buy clothes to come to court—benefits that were not disclosed to Abernathy’s defense attorney at trial.
The Northwestern students brought the results of their investigation to a law firm where attorney Lauren Kaeseberg began preliminary work on the case. In 2013, Kaeseberg started working for the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois in Springfield, Illinois. In 2014, Kaeseberg asked the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit to examine the case.
In August 2014, pursuant to an agreement between the Illinois Innocence Project and the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit, an order was entered to conduct DNA testing. Eight different items were tested, including a vaginal swab, clothing of the victim and her purse. Abernathy’s DNA was not found on any of the evidence but a partial DNA profile of a different person was found on the eight items tested. The profile was not complete enough to submit to a DNA database, but the prosecution agreed with the defense team that the testing excluded Abernathy as the perpetrator of the crime.
On February 11, 2015, the Conviction Integrity Unit requested that Abernathy’s convictions be vacated. The motion was granted and the charges were dismissed.
Abernathy was released the same day and was greeted by his family, including his mother, who had visited Abernathy in prison nearly 1,000 times during the nearly 30 years he was incarcerated.
In 2016, Abernathy filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against former Park Forest police officers Carl Keuster and Donald Meyers, the Cook County State's Attorney's office and Steven Theodore, owner of a polygraph service in Hillside, Illinois. The lawsuit accused the officers of forcing Dennis to falsely state that Abernathy had admitted to the crime. The lawsuit also claimed that during the interrogation, the officers took Abernathy to Theodore's private polygraph business in Hillside, Illiinois and that they conspired with Theodore to file a false report of what Abernathy said during and after the exam. In 2019, the village of Park Forest settled for $13.7 million, Cook County agreed to pay $300,000, and Theodore agreed to pay $1,000 to settle the lawsuit.
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4640
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
His attorneys alleged in a 2016 lawsuit that police had pressured Abernathy, a high school dropout with learning disabilities, into confessing during an interrogation that spanned 36 hours. The DNA at the scene came from two unidentified men, according to the suit. Under an agreement signed last month, two insurers agreed to pay $13.5 million on behalf of the village and its police, according to records of the settlement provided by the National Registry of Exonerations. The village itself agreed to pay $200,000 and a private polygraph examiner who allegedly tested Abernathy after his arrest is on the hook for $1,000, the records show. Cook County officials agreed to pay $300,000 to settle claims against a prosecutor and detective from the sheriff’s office, according to the records. The authorities admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlements, which do not spell out how much money will go to Abernathy, 52, and how much to his attorneys. Abernathy continues to live in the Chicago area, said one of his attorneys, Torreya Hamilton. “He’s doing as well as can be expected, given what was taken from him, which is basically his whole life,” she said.Attorneys for the defendants either declined to comment or could not be reached. The settlements include confidentiality provisions generally barring the parties from discussing the terms. Since Abernathy’s release, no one has been charged with killing the girl. On Monday, an Illinois State Police spokeswoman said the agency has an open investigation into the murder and declined to comment.
On the night of Oct. 3, 1984, Kristina walked to Rich East High School to perform at a choir concert, according to court records. Two days later, her body was found in the bushes near a Marshall Field’s store with her pink dress disheveled and her throat cut. The discovery of her body near a downtown shopping center — a popular hangout for youths — shook the suburb. Abernathy, then of Midlothian, was not charged for more than a year. Witnesses at his criminal trial said Abernathy, who had dated Kristina, made strange comments at her funeral. An acquaintance came forward and told police that Abernathy, who was 18 when he was arrested, had confessed to him that he killed the girl. Abernathy later told authorities he approached Kristina as she walked home, tried to have sex with her and accidentally killed her with a butterfly knife, according to court records. His lawyers have said the man who implicated him recanted and said he had been pressured by police. In announcing his exoneration, Alvarez said, “I cannot, I will not let a wrongful conviction stand, and in our assessment Mr. Abernathy’s conviction was just that.” Abernathy’s suit states that he was physically and sexually assaulted in prison, where he contracted HIV. Abernathy’s mother, Ann Kolus, had long insisted on his innocence, and she was ailing when she greeted him as he walked free from Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet in February 2015. According to Abernathy’s suit, she died of cancer six months later. “He was just so thankful, actually, that he got six months with her before she died,” Hamilton said.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-christopher-abernathy-lawsuit-settled-20190429-story.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
Read National Registry of Exonerations entry at the link below:
On October 3, 1984, 15-year-old Kristina Hickey disappeared while walking home from a high school choir performance in Park Forest, Illinois. Her body was found two days later behind a shopping mall. She had been raped and stabbed.
More than a year later, on November 30, 1985, police brought in 18-year-old Christopher Abernathy for questioning after an acquaintance, Allan Dennis, told police that several months earlier Abernathy had admitted killing Hickey. Abernathy had attended Hickey’s funeral—as did several hundred other teenagers—and was heard saying that he had a gun in his car and intended to fire a salute afterward. Police checked Abernathy out at that time, but decided the comment was not serious.
After more than 40 hours of interrogation, Abernathy, a high school dropout who had been classified as learning disabled, signed a confession saying he saw her walking home and wanted to have sex with her. When she refused, he attempted to rape her and then accidentally stabbed her with a pocket knife he had in his hand. Almost immediately, Abernathy recanted the confession and said he signed the statement because police told him he could go home to his mother if he did.
Abernathy went to trial in Cook County Circuit Court in January 1987. The evidence against him was the testimony of Dennis, who said that Abernathy had admitted the crime to him, and Abernathy’s confession.
No forensic or physical evidence connected Abernathy to the crime. Presumptive tests were negative for the presence of semen.
On January 15, 1987, a jury convicted Abernathy of first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and armed robbery. Because he was 17 at the time of the crime, Abernathy was not eligible for the death penalty. Instead, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
More than 15 years later, journalism students at Northwestern University began investigating the case and Dennis recanted his trial testimony. Dennis said that Abernathy had not confessed, but that police pressured him to implicate Abernathy. He said police promised to get him lenient treatment on some pending minor charges and gave him $300 to buy clothes to come to court—benefits that were not disclosed to Abernathy’s defense attorney at trial.
The Northwestern students brought the results of their investigation to a law firm where attorney Lauren Kaeseberg began preliminary work on the case. In 2013, Kaeseberg started working for the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois in Springfield, Illinois. In 2014, Kaeseberg asked the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit to examine the case.
In August 2014, pursuant to an agreement between the Illinois Innocence Project and the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit, an order was entered to conduct DNA testing. Eight different items were tested, including a vaginal swab, clothing of the victim and her purse. Abernathy’s DNA was not found on any of the evidence but a partial DNA profile of a different person was found on the eight items tested. The profile was not complete enough to submit to a DNA database, but the prosecution agreed with the defense team that the testing excluded Abernathy as the perpetrator of the crime.
On February 11, 2015, the Conviction Integrity Unit requested that Abernathy’s convictions be vacated. The motion was granted and the charges were dismissed.
Abernathy was released the same day and was greeted by his family, including his mother, who had visited Abernathy in prison nearly 1,000 times during the nearly 30 years he was incarcerated.
In 2016, Abernathy filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against former Park Forest police officers Carl Keuster and Donald Meyers, the Cook County State's Attorney's office and Steven Theodore, owner of a polygraph service in Hillside, Illinois. The lawsuit accused the officers of forcing Dennis to falsely state that Abernathy had admitted to the crime. The lawsuit also claimed that during the interrogation, the officers took Abernathy to Theodore's private polygraph business in Hillside, Illiinois and that they conspired with Theodore to file a false report of what Abernathy said during and after the exam. In 2019, the village of Park Forest settled for $13.7 million, Cook County agreed to pay $300,000, and Theodore agreed to pay $1,000 to settle the lawsuit.
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
