BACKGROUND: Chester Otto Weger (born March 3, 1939)] is an American man who was convicted in 1961 of the murder of one of three women found slain at Starved Rock State Park the previous year. He was held at Pinckneyville Correctional Center and at one time was the longest serving inmate incarcerated by the State of Illinois as well as the third longest in state history before his release on February 21, 2020. On November 21, 2019, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board granted parole to Weger by a vote of 9–4.[ He was released on parole February 21, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Weger
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Jansz would not, however, agree to admit a 15-year-old video recording by the late Anthony C. Raccuglia, who prosecuted Weger. In the recording, Hale said, Raccuglia openly admitted having doubts about the validity of Weger’s confession. “He said a lot of things that are pretty stunning and which I think are relevant,” Hale said. Special prosecutor Colleen Griffin said the Raccuglia isn’t new – “It wasn’t recently obtained” – and Raccuglia, who died in 2019, cannot be cross-examined about the recording. Moreover, she said, Raccuglia concluded Weger killed the women. “This is simply not evidence whatsoever,” Griffin said. Jansz agreed the recording does not qualify as new evidence."
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STORY: "Judge agrees not to admit 15-year-old video recording of prosecutor in 1960 Starved Rock murders ‘mini trial,’ by Reporter Tom Collins, published by Shaw Local, on May 6, 2025.
SUB-HEADING: "Judge sets oral arguments for May 28, ruling not expected after next week’s hearings.
GIST: "Chester Weger’s “mini-trial” is a go and begins next week. He won’t get a ruling until after Memorial Day, however.
Weger, 86, spent nearly six decades in prison for the murder of Lillian Oetting, one of three women fatally bludgeoned in 1960 at Starved Rock State Park. He continues to assert his innocence and will have a shot to overturn his conviction at a hearing scheduled May 12-14.
At a Monday hearing (Weger was not present) on what he called “housekeeping” motions – two of which were granted without objection – La Salle County Judge Michael C. Jansz scheduled oral arguments for 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 28.
Weger’s lawyer Andy Hale objected to a separate hearing for oral arguments. He pointed out Weger is elderly and thus there is some urgency in getting a ruling at the conclusion of next week’s proceedings.
“A few weeks or a month I wouldn’t (ordinarily) quarrel, but here I do,” Hale said, adding later, “I just don’t see why they (prosecutors) need to take a couple of weeks to file something.”
Jansz, however, agreed that a followup date for arguments was warranted considering the sheer volume of documents in play. Jansz noted he only recently finished reviewing the thousands of pages after months of review.
“A little bit of time is needed,” the judge agreed. “I think it’s a reasonable request.”
Jansz would not, however, agree to admit a 15-year-old video recording by the late Anthony C. Raccuglia, who prosecuted Weger. In the recording, Hale said, Raccuglia openly admitted having doubts about the validity of Weger’s confession.
“He said a lot of things that are pretty stunning and which I think are relevant,” Hale said.
Special prosecutor Colleen Griffin said the Raccuglia isn’t new – “It wasn’t recently obtained” – and Raccuglia, who died in 2019, cannot be cross-examined about the recording. Moreover, she said, Raccuglia concluded Weger killed the women.
“This is simply not evidence whatsoever,” Griffin said.
Jansz agreed the recording does not qualify as new evidence.
“It’s the opinion of an attorney,” Jansz said. “I do not see that rising to the level of evidence.”
Hale indicated, however, he would enter Raccuglia’s comments into the record for an appeals court to review later."
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
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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;
