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Criminal Justice

Arrested at 13, Freed 16 Years Later After Witnesses Recant

Posted May 4, 2009 7:59 PM CST
By Martha Neil

Thaddeus Jimenez said he didn't do it.

But, after being arrested at 13 for a 1993 street gang murder, he was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Only after the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law took on his case and witnesses recanted did he convince Cook County, Illinois, prosecutors of his innocence.

At that point, they worked with the team representing Jimenez to get a judge to overturn his conviction, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Now 30, he has been freed after serving more than 16 years in prison. Attorneys from Katten Muchin Rosenman, working pro bono, were instrumental in winning the reversal of his conviction, according to an Innocence Project press release.

A Katten press release links to documents in the case.

A man arrested Friday in Indiana is a suspect in the murder for which Jimenez was wrongly convicted, but he has not been formally charged, the Sun-Times reports.

Jimenez may be the youngest person in Illinois history ever exonerated in such a case, Katten says in its release.

Additional coverage:

YouTube: "The Exoneration of Thaddeus Jimenez"

Comments

1.

B. McLeod
May 5, 2009 12:28 AM CST

This is a great story.  I know prosecutors in some jurisdictions are annoyed by programs like this.  However, I think it ultimately furthers the credibility of the legal system when pro bono teams identify and help to vindicate the erroneously convicted.  In this particular case, it is to the credit of the Cook County prosecutors, as well, that they pitched in to help correct an injustice.

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2.

Al Veoli
May 5, 2009 5:16 AM CST

The poor slob may not have done it, but at least he’s been off the streets not geting into trouble for the last 17 years.  Probably got a good education, 3 square meals a day, and a stronger socual environment.

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3.

CJ
May 5, 2009 12:20 PM CST

Comment removed by moderator.

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4.

KUDOS ... (JAG, CALWP)
May 5, 2009 12:53 PM CST

... to “Attorneys from Katten Muchin Rosenman, working pro bono ...,” the Cook County prosecutors and anyone else working towards the release.
Prosecutors annoyed by work such as described here belong in another line of work and another profession.
I’m glad I spent my teens in states other than Illinois, though I have ridden through IL en-route to elsewhere.

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5.

D Smith
May 6, 2009 7:33 AM CST

“The poor slob may not have done it, but at least he’s been off the streets not geting into trouble for the last 17 years.  Probably got a good education, 3 square meals a day, and a stronger socual environment.”

This takes the cake for being one of the dumbest, most insensitive comments I’ve ever seen.  Remember these words if you are ever wrongly convicted of murder and have to spend half your life behind bars.

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6.

phfinpgh
May 8, 2009 6:10 AM CST

Al Veoli-what planet do you live on?  He was in a dangerous, unpleasant environment, vulnerable to being preyed upon.  He did NOT get a good education, I promise you.  Those “3 squares” were practically inedible.  And prison is not a “stronger social environment” than anything, even the most dangerous neighborhood.  Have a heart.  He spent his entire youth in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.  Your ignorance is shocking and you need to educate yourself about the realities of your society.

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7.

Conservative, but I still have a social backbone
May 8, 2009 7:49 AM CST

To #2: Wow… it’s comments like yours which have caused people to leave the Republican party in droves.

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8.

jcg in PA
May 8, 2009 8:04 AM CST

Al Veoli (aka number 2).....are you serious????  If you’re a lawyer, YOU belong in an another line of work.  In fact, lawyer or not, if what you wrote is truly your reaction to this story, you belong to a different species. Get some perspective, Al

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9.

AndytheLawyer
May 8, 2009 9:50 AM CST

Al Veoli just provided the perfect justification for his own arrest, trial and incarceration—and never mind whether he committed a crime or not.

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10.

Garp
May 8, 2009 10:54 AM CST

Yep. #2 was an ignorant comment, unless it was an attempt at humor in which case it was in bad taste.

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11.

sb
May 8, 2009 11:36 AM CST

Hey, lay off of tossing the shards at Al Veoli; unless you’ve done enough criminal defense work to realize that the “not guilty” are not truly “innocent,” then you should retract your posts.  What Al most likely meant, and what everyone involved in criminal defense—attorneys, police, judges, parents—knows, is that if they have evidence against you it’s because you were close enough to the case to be caught in the net.  The kid was wrongfully convicted, and that’s a shame, and it’s terrible, and it certainly is a legal injustice.  However, he was headed that direction anyway if he was hanging around with gang members.

Like the late great Johnny Cash said in his ballad “Joe Bean:”  “Well, they’re hangin’ Joe Bean this mornin’ for a killin’ that he never did; he killed 20 men by the time he was ten, he was an unruly kid.  But they’re hangin’ Joe Bean for the one shootin’ that he never did.”

So refer your barbs to the prosecutors, the lying witnesses, the police who probably helped frame the kid, but leave Al alone, because he’s absolutely right: if this kid was involved in gangs, etc., enough to be a suspect, he was screwing up and headed down the road to prison anyway.  I am NOT saying he deserved to be imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, that his plight makes his wrongful imprisonment any less tragic, or anything like that, and I don’t think Al was either.  I am simply saying that Al’s statement that he was “off the streets and not getting into trouble” was most likely spot-on.

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12.

Nicole
May 8, 2009 12:37 PM CST

phfinpgh, I’m sure he got a great education.  His education was in how to be a better criminal and predator.  What a shame his life was wasted in this manner.  I hope he is able to become a productive citizen in spite of the cards that life dealt him.

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13.

to_sb
May 8, 2009 12:59 PM CST

Hey sb and Al - you’re not innocent either - maybe when you were 13 you should have been locked up too.  Plenty of 13 year old kids do see the light and turn their backs on the gangs when they get older (not enough).

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14.

Bill
May 8, 2009 2:58 PM CST

The best part is how many here swam right up to Al’s hook, line and sinker and took a big, fat, juicy bite. 

Anyone who has hung out here for more than a few days should recognize Al - and by the way, if you remember anything from your biology or anatomy classes, the name “Al Veoli” should be a bit of a giveaway.

And here I thought lawyers were supposed to be good at critical, analytical and (hopefully) skeptical thinking.

Ha!  The Friday ABA journal is always good for a chuckle and a rueful head shake.

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15.

AV
May 8, 2009 3:13 PM CST

I don’t give a s*&% who Al or SB is?  Their comments are the downright racist views prevalent in this society (that’s right I said it becuase we KNOW what color he was).  A child’s (remember he was a child) life was wasted and all the system has to say is “sorry you can go home now”.  This country is solely for the “right-looking” rich folks.

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16.

OMG
May 8, 2009 5:00 PM CST

To #2. A stronger social environment? At age 13? Maybe you don’t realize most people who have spent time in prison come out with knowledge of how to commit other crimes learned from fellow inmates. Now take a 13 year old whose informative years were spent in prison with adults with criminal backgrounds. What kind of strong social environment is that? What kind of education do you think he got? Do you really think from 13 to 30 years old in prison taught him to be an upstanding citizen? He might very well be resentful towards society for the 17 years of his life that were lost and spent in prison. That may be a bigger threat to society and how is he now to care for himself? Who will provide him with “3 square meals a day”? Most likely the taxpayer. Just because he is innocent, after 17 years in prison, what kind of job skills at 30 do you think he has to find a job to support himself? He very well could have been a productive member of society instead of your belief that he could have been committing crimes these past 17 years.

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17.

sb
May 8, 2009 6:21 PM CST

(sigh) For the record, I did mention that it was tragic, an injustice, the kid was wrongfully convicted, and what I DIDN’T say was I know or care what RACE OR COLOR the kid happens to be.  Not sure where anyone gets off calling me a racist; the vast majority of my criminal clients are white, if anyone cares, because the vast majority of criminals in my area are white.  Mostly white trash, actually.  What “-ist” does that make me?  Not race.

What Al—and I—were commenting on may have been a hasty generalization, but I guarantee all of you that no one goes to prison unless there is SOME evidence linking them to the crime.  Nothing to do with race.  Nothing to do with where you live.  Nothing to do with your lot in life.  It’s your choices that lead you to commit crimes, not your skin color.  So go ahead and jump on the “racist” bandwagon if you want, but I am armed with the truth, and the truth isn’t always politically correct.

BY THE WAY, I actually looked at the Chicago Sun Times article.  Guess what?  It says he was convicted of a “street gang murder.”  Know what that means?  He was involved with a street gang.  Know what else?  Look at the picture; he and his mother appear to be WHITE!  Someone, please, explain again how I am a racist.

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18.

sb
May 8, 2009 6:25 PM CST

Oh, I know why you think I’m a racist: because his last name is Jimenez he HAS to be hispanic.  Who’s the racist NOW??

Incidentally, yes, I just figured that out—because, as I said before, I don’t give two poops what his race is.

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19.

sb
May 8, 2009 6:31 PM CST

In closing, I would continue by pointing out that both Al and I expressly stated that yes, it was a tragedy that this young man rotted in jail for 17 years for something he didn’t do, but the portion everyone focused upon was the statements regarding the kid’s involvement in gangs and crime.  Why, again, someone explain please, am I a racist because I suggested that a white child involved with gangs was partly responsible for his WRONGFUL (notice the emphasis, please) conviction?

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20.

dusky
May 9, 2009 4:18 PM CST

It is more than a tragedy when police ignore a taped confession.  The trial court had no choice but to exclude the tape as hearsay, but the police were under no such restraint.  When presented with the evidence, instead of investigating it, they buried it—for about 14 years.

And yes, there was SOME evidence linking him to the crime:  an anonymous telephone accusation, and a coerced identification by the 14 year old eyewitness.

As to Jimenez’s gang involvement, that appears to be purely speculation on your part based on the newspaper description of the crime as a “street gang murder.”

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21.

B. McLeod
May 10, 2009 6:42 PM CST

The crime which was committed, as it turned out, by someone else.

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22.

phfinpgh
May 15, 2009 8:56 AM CST

sb, you say that no one is ever convicted of a crime without SOME evidence linking them to the crime.  I agree that it’s often the case that someone is convicted for a crime they didn’t commit because they were a bad actor (e.g., a gang member who didn’t commit THAT crime).  But I strongly disagree that wrongful conviction never happens to someone who is truly innocent.  Please read the new book “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton, describing at length how Cotton was truly and absolutely innocent of Thompson-Cannino’s rape, was nowhere near the scene, and yet was imprisoned for the rape for decades before his DNA-based exoneration.

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