Sunday, November 14, 2021

Barton McNeil; illinois: Bulletin: Good news: Serving a 100-year prison sentence - and having maintained his innocence from the outset - he is closer to having a hearing on new forensic evidence, CIIProud.com (Reporter Austin Schick) reports..."On Friday, attorneys from the Illinois Innocence Project appeared in a McLean County Courtroom on McNeil’s behalf, as well as a group of family members and other supporters. Mary Koll, a prosecutor with the state’s attorney’s office, said she talked with McNeil’s innocence team before the hearing. She said the state needed time to decide on whether the state would request dismissal of McNeil’s petition for a new trial, or move directly to an evidentiary hearing–a hearing where both parties will outline new evidence in the case. Judge William Yoder set a 30-day status hearing and put the next date as December 10th. McNeil’s cousin, Chris Ross, said he is pleased with Friday’s hearing and hopes things keep trending up for his cousin. “I’m here to support my cousin; I will be for every future hearing until the point in time that there’s an order he be released and I’ll gladly be there when he’s released from Pinckneyville Correctional Institute and be able to give this guy a hug and he deserves to have his freedom back,” Ross said."


BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: "After lawyers with the Exoneration Project and Illinois Innocence Project unearthed dramatic new forensic evidence, a judge has ruled that McNeil - serving a 100 year sentence on murder charges in the 1998 death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil - can take the next step in his quest for a new trial, WGLT (Reporter Edith Brady-Lunny) reports..."McNeil’s petition seeking a new trial in the 1998 death of his young daughter will move forward in McLean County court, a judge has ruled, in a decision that recognizes potential new evidence that may support McNeil’s innocence. McNeil is serving 100 years on murder charges in the suffocation death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil. McNeil claimed he found the child’s lifeless body in her bed at his Bloomington apartment, maintaining his innocence while encouraging police to investigate his former girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, as a suspect. Nowlin was later convicted in the 2011 strangulation of her mother-in-law, Linda Tyda. In February, lawyers with the Illinois Innocence Project and The Exoneration Project filed a 65-page petition asserting McNeil’s innocence of the murder. Newly developed scientific evidence challenges claims by former pathologist Dr. Violette Hnilica that the child was molested before she was smothered. Authorities relied upon an accusation that McNeil molested his daughter to support their theory of a motive for her death. “The bottom line is that modern science completely repudiates Hnilica’s testimony regarding any alleged motive,” said the defense motion. Forensic tests performed after McNeil’s conviction on hair collected from inside the child’s pillowcase showed the hair was consistent with Nowlin’s DNA, the defense argues. Nowlin also could not be excluded from DNA collected from a bedsheet."

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PASSAGE  OF THE DAY: "McNeil maintains to this day that his ex-girlfriend at the time is responsible for his daughter’s death. She is serving time in prison for an unrelated murder."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "McNeil’s cousin, Chris Ross, said he is pleased with Friday’s hearing and hopes things keep trending up for his cousin. “I’m here to support my cousin; I will be for every future hearing until the point in time that there’s an order he be released and I’ll gladly be there when he’s released from Pinckneyville Correctional Institute and be able to give this guy a hug and he deserves to have his freedom back,” Ross said. Ross said McNeil was represented by a public defender in the 90s and said he hopes to see Bart have a chance to defend himself in court. “Usually only about 3% of applicants to innocence projects have their cases taken up by these attorneys on their behalf, so I’m looking forward to my cousin having finally after 23 years truly have his day in court,” Ross said."

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STORY: "Barton McNeil could soon have hearing on new evidence," by Reporter Austin Schick, published by  CIProud.com on November 12, 2021.

GIST: "A Bloomington man serving a 100-year prison sentence for murdering his daughter may soon get a new lease on life.


Barton McNeil has served over 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 1998 strangulation of his daughter, Christina McNeil.

Since then, McNeil has maintained his innocence in the death and said he had zero involvement.

On Friday, attorneys from the Illinois Innocence Project appeared in a McLean County Courtroom on McNeil’s behalf, as well as a group of family members and other supporters.

Mary Koll, a prosecutor with the state’s attorney’s office, said she talked with McNeil’s innocence team before the hearing. She said the state needed time to decide on whether the state would request dismissal of McNeil’s petition for a new trial, or move directly to an evidentiary hearing–a hearing where both parties will outline new evidence in the case.

Judge William Yoder set a 30-day status hearing and put the next date as December 10th.

McNeil’s cousin, Chris Ross, said he is pleased with Friday’s hearing and hopes things keep trending up for his cousin.

“I’m here to support my cousin; I will be for every future hearing until the point in time that there’s an order he be released and I’ll gladly be there when he’s released from Pinckneyville Correctional Institute and be able to give this guy a hug and he deserves to have his freedom back,” Ross said.

Ross said McNeil was represented by a public defender in the 90s and said he hopes to see Bart have a chance to defend himself in court.

“Usually only about 3% of applicants to innocence projects have their cases taken up by these attorneys on their behalf, so I’m looking forward to my cousin having finally after 23 years truly have his day in court,” Ross said.


The entire story can be read at: 


https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/barton-mcneil-could-soon-have-hearing-on-new-evidence/
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/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL, FINAL WORD: "It is incredibly easy to convict an innocent person, but it's exceedingly difficult to undo such a devastating injustice. 
Jennifer Givens: DirectorL UVA Innocence Project.