After learning about
the Anthony Porter Case, We, the comrades of Unit 1012, NEVER and DO NOT
support any wrongful conviction, we want the guilty to be punished. However, we
know that the ACLU Demons, uses the word, ‘innocent convicted’
not because they fear convicting the innocent, but they just oppose convicting
the guilty.
On this date, October
30, 2014, Alstory Simon was freed from Prison after
spending nearly 15 years behind bar after being framed by the Innocence
Project. We encourage the public to never believe in those Anti-Death Penalty
Activists (Pro Murderers and murder victims haters) send by Satan anymore, as
they enjoy LYING AND LYING SO MUCH!
 |
|
Free: Alstory Simon confessed to a double
murder in 1999, mainly because of an investigation from a team of students at
Northwestern University. He was released from Jacksonville Correctional
Facility last week
|
INTERNET SOURCE: http://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/510704771-man-cleared-of-double-murder-ok-d-to-sue-northwestern-journalism-professor-he-says-put-him-behind-bars
Man cleared
of double murder OK'd to sue Northwestern, journalism professor he says put him
behind bars
Jonathan Bilyk
Mar. 30, 2016, 6:23pm
A man whose
conviction on double murder charges was vacated after it was revealed a
Northwestern University journalism professor and the investigator with whom he
worked had allegedly falsified evidence implicating him in the killings has won
the chance to continue with his lawsuit against the university and the people
he alleged wrongly put him behind bars to boost their own prestige and careers.
On March
29, U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. ruled in favor of plaintiff Alstory
Simon, denying motions by the university and defendants David Protess, a former
professor of journalism at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, and
Patrick Ciolino, a private investigator who worked with Protess, to dismiss
Simon’s lawsuit, declaring, in part, he found many of Simon’s allegations to be
plausible.
“It is
reasonable to think that Defendants, who had garnered tremendous prestige
(e.g., book deals, a made-for-TV movie, sizable donations, etc.) from their
involvement in two high-profile wrongful conviction cases, would be eager to
continue their streak of successes,” the judge said. “It is also reasonable to think
that Defendants, who allegedly used ethically questionable tactics in their
previous investigation, would continue down that path in securing their third
in a string of successful exonerations.
“And
finally, it is plausible that the State’s Attorney prosecuted Plaintiff because
of the falsified evidence, which consisted of a recanted eyewitness account, a
new eyewitness account, and a corroborated confession,” Dow said. “Plaintiff’s
malicious prosecution claim therefore is plausible on its face.”
Simon had
brought the action in 2015 after a Cook County judge, at the request of Cook
County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, had vacated Simon’s conviction for the
1982 murders of Jerry Hillard and Marilyn Green on Chicago’s southeast side. In
1983, another man, Anthony Porter, had been convicted of the slayings. But in
1998, Protess and Ciolino, along with Protess’ students at Medill, had
undertaken, on the eve of Porter’s scheduled execution, to clear Porter’s name.
Protess and
Ciolino, through the Medill school, had partnered several years before to clear
the names of the men known as the “Ford Heights Four,” who had been wrongly
implicated in another double killing. That success had been preceded by the
part Protess had played in overturning the conviction of David Dowaliby, who
had been wrongly convicted of killing his child. Those investigations had
resulted in book deals and television movies, among other benefits for Protess.
However,
during the investigation into the Ford Heights Four case, Simon’s complaint
alleged Protess and Ciolino used “ethically-questionable tactics,” including
promising sexual favors and paydays to key witnesses, and posing as Hollywood
producer Jerry Bruckheimer during one interview. Simon’s complaint said
Northwestern was aware of the problems with Protess’ behavior, but chose to
look the other way to enjoy the “ ‘prestige, recognition and monetary benefits’
from Protess’ work,” including a $20 million grant from the Robert R. McCormick
Tribune Foundation in mid-1998.
Simon
alleged a desire to continue the string of high-profile successes motivated
Protess and Ciolino to allegedly frame Simon, by fabricating “four pieces of
false evidence which they contended dismantled the case against Porter and
proved that Simon committed the murders.” The false evidence included
affidavits from a purported eyewitness who had claimed to have seen Porter
commit the crimes, and “coerced statements” from others who said Simon had
either confessed his guilt years earlier or they had been with him at the time
of the killings.
And Simon
said Protess and Ciolino had also allegedly coerced a “false confession” from
him, as well, with Ciolino posing as a police officer, illegally detaining him
and using ”threats, fabricated evidence, false statements, promises, money, and
other illegal tactics,” to wring a confession out of him that he had “shot
Hillard in self-defense and Green by accident.”
According
to the complaint, Ciolino even arranged for a friend of his, Jack Rimland, who
Simon alleged was in on the conspiracy, to represent Simon to ensure the case
did not unravel.
The
evidence was then passed on to CBS and to Cook County prosecutors, who let
Porter go free and charged Simon with double murder in 1999.
Over the
years, however, the case against Simon frayed and then deteriorated, as first
Simon and then the others who had implicated him recanted. Simon was released
from custody on Oct. 31, 2014, and he filed suit in February 2015, asking the
court to award him $40 million.
Northwestern
and the other defendants then asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit on a
number of grounds. Simon agreed to dismiss the counts against Rimland, and
agreed to dismiss some of the other counts as being time-barred.
However,
the judge allowed the bulk of Simon’s case to proceed, including allegations of
malicious prosecution and conspiracy. The defendants attempted to claim they
had only distributed “voluntary statements that they learned, after the fact,
were false,” and that Simon was ultimately convicted as a result of the state’s
attorney’s investigation, not theirs. But the judge said Simon’s allegations,
including accusations the statements were coerced through threats, bribes and
trickery, and prosecutors’ reliance on the evidence allegedly uncovered by the
defendants, undercut those arguments.
Further,
the judge said Northwestern also wouldn’t be allowed off the hook at this
point, as Simon’s complaint also sufficiently implicated them for failing to
supervise and rein in Protess.
Simon is
represented in the action by the firm of Ekl, Williams & Provenzale, of
Lisle; The Sotos Law Firm, of Itasca; and Hale Law LLC, of Chicago.
Protess is
defended by the firm of Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, of Chicago.
Ciolino is represented by Thomas J. Fleischmann & Associates, of St.
Charles, and attorney Terence E. Flynn, of Chicago. Northwestern is represented
by the firm of Jenner & Block, of Chicago. Rimland was represented by the
firm of Johnson & Bell, of Chicago.
OTHER LINKS:
WHAT’S WRONG
WITH THE WRONGFUL CONVICTION MOVEMENT BY MARTIN PREIB
Crime Lab
Report
"Vindicated"
Former Death Row Inmate Actually Did It
CASEY ANTHONY
IS GUILTY!
INNOCENCE
FRAUD PROJECT:
No comments:
Post a Comment