Report alleges crime lab fraud
A supervisor at the Illinois State Police crime lab gave false testimony in nine cases, including trials that resulted in wrongful rape convictions of three Chicago men, according to an...
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3 cases weaken under scrutiny
In July 1998, the State of Arkansas executed Wilburn Henderson for the murder and robbery of a furniture-store owner, even though a federal appeals court once ruled there was "significant...
MINORITY PACTS CLOUD BINION CASINO BID
To win a license for a new Louisiana casino, Las Vegas gambling boss Jack Binion made an extraordinary promise in 1993 to funnel 70 percent of the casino's supply contracts--from...
CIVIL RIGHTS CHAMPION, DEFENDER OF UNDERDOG
Chicago civil rights attorney Elmer Gertz, a passionate litigator who gained parole for Nathan Leopold, overturned Jack Ruby's murder conviction and rescued Henry Miller's racy "Tropic of Cancer" from government...
BILL SEEKS STATEWIDE TAPING OF SUSPECTS
Reacting to a series of prosecutions marred by false or improperly obtained confessions, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) introduced a bill Monday that would require police statewide to videotape interrogations...
4TH JUDGE ASSIGNED TO CASINO LAWSUIT QUITS
Groups fighting over the future of Illinois' new gambling law and a planned casino in Rosemont lost yet another judge Thursday when Lake County Circuit Judge Charles Scott said he...
U.S. CLAIMS VICTORY OVER MEXICAN DRUG RING
U.S. authorities announced Wednesday that they had dismantled a high-tech drug-smuggling operation that has shipped hundreds of tons of cocaine, marijuana and heroin from Mexico through Chicago and other U.S....
Part 5: Break rules, be promoted
As Cook County prosecutors, Carol Pearce McCarthy, Kenneth Wadas and Patrick Quinn drew scathing rebukes from the Illinois Appellate Court for failing to abide by the rules designed to keep...
Part 4: Reversal of fortune
On a weekday afternoon one year ago, in a conference room 39 floors above LaSalle Street, two men sat at opposite ends of a long oval table ringed by a...
Part 3: Prosecution on trial in DuPage
With little national fanfare, a most extraordinary trial is scheduled to open next week in the DuPage County courthouse. Though it has none of the star appeal of the O.J....