Friday, January 06, 2006

Alstory Simon case update

Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune had a column a couple of days ago about the Alstory Simon/Anthony Porter case.

A refresher: Porter was a couple of days away from being executed in Illinois for a double murder. Northwestern University (yes, the same NU where Bernardine Dohrn hangs her shingle, scroll down for more on Dohrn) Professor David Protess and some students of his stopped that execution. They got Alstory Simon to confess to the murders.

Simon now has recanted, and claims Protess and his students coerced him into confessing to the crime Porter (since pardoned by former Governor George Ryan) was first found guilty of in the 1980s.

Porter sued the City of Chicago recently for false arrest, he lost that suit. Walter Jones, an attorney representing the city, said this in court:

"We successfully showed that it was truly Anthony Porter that committed this murder."

Zorn cast doubts on the Simon claim, and he's suspicious of the motives of Simon's attorneys, James Sotos and Terry Ekl.

That column is posted on Eric's blog, and the comments section is quite lively, Dan Curry who is very close to both cases, adding his opinions. Here is one compelling argument from Dan:

The point remains that Eric is trying to avoid a discussion of the very serious issues raised by Sotos and Ekl on behalf of Simon. He's doing it by attacking Sotos and Ekl and now, Joe Birkett. I have no idea what Joe Birkett has to do with Alstory Simon. Eric not once that I can recall ever publicly questioned the motives of anybody who tried to help other potentially wrongfully convicted people. And he knows some of those people have histories and motives arguably is "questionable" as Ekl and Sotos. One of the very serious issues raised in this case involves an allegation that the investigator in this case, Ciolino, after Simon "confessed" to him, steered Simon to a friendly attorney to make sure the story didn't unravel. I don't know anyone who believes it is proper for an investigator in a case who elicits a surprise confession to be providing the attorney for that man. What Eric's column also doesn't mention is that all witnesses against Simon have recanted and there is no physical evidence whatsoever. Certainly a case worth exploring, at the very least.


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