GIST: "After 62 years, another two months will continue in the exoneration case of Chester Weger, who has maintained his innocence that long.
Following his jury conviction for one of three murders at Starved Rock State Park, six decades in prison, and a 2019 parole, Weger, soon to be age 84, was back in court with his family Friday in a LaSalle County courtroom in Ottawa.
His attorney, Andy Hale requested access to physical evidence for a second time. The goal is finding quality hair roots from slides, envelopes, or photos for nuclear DNA testing by an Elgin company. But court approval will be needed for additional testing, thus the reason for an April 19th hearing.
In a 1960 UPI story, then LaSalle County Sheriff Ray Eutsey revealed a New York lab tested strands of hair from a glove of one victim and another clutched by the hand of the second victim indicated two different suspects were involved. A 1960 Washington University medical lab test found the hairs were “dissimilar” to Weger and a recent nuclear test declared one hair was not Weger’s.
Outside the courtroom, Hale spoke to the media.
A higher level than nuclear DNA testing called mitochondrial testing continues on previously tested hairs by a Virginia-based lab.
Local author-journalist Steve Stout has complied with a court subpoena from last fall, turning over his documents which include artifacts from former LaSalle County State’s Attorney Harlan Warren, who gave them to him.
Inside a large tub, a LaSalle County judge disclosed that there are statements from people investigators talked to, summaries of conversations with Weger, photos and a marked-up map. Hale talked about the late Warren.
After the 30-minute status hearing Friday, Hale outlined the next steps.
The Will County Special Prosecution team could exonerate Weger at any time.
The next LaSalle County court date is April 19th at 2:30 p.m. in Ottawa."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
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