Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Defense Blog : Wrongful Conviction Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Andrew M. Hale Law Firm

The Ohio Parole Board has voted 8-0 against pardoning Kevin Keith. Keith was convicted in 1994 of killing Marichell Chatman and her 4 year old daughter, as well as her aunt, Linda Chatman. He was also convicted of shooting Marichell's cousins (4 & 6 years old), and her boyfriend Rick Warren. Damon Chatman recently stated that he had spoken with Warren, the eyewitness in the case, and "Rick has told me exactly what happened. He knows it was Kevin who shot him and we know it too." Damon said he is upset that Keith's attorneys tried to implicate a Chatman family member in the murders, stating "He is our uncle. I see him every day. He absolutely did not kill part of our family." Marichell's uncle, Herb Chatman, stated "Kevin knows he did this, but he just keeps dragging it out. He's been wasting the taxpayers' money for way too long."Keith is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 15th. Marichell's cousin, Tacsha Ridgeway, stated "We will all be there. We know he did this horrible crime to our family and he knows it too, yet he keeps hanging on." Apparently, not for much longer. . . 

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The City of Long Beach has apparently reached a settlement with Thomas Goldstein whereby Goldstein will receive nearly $8 million. Goldstein was living in Long Beach in 1979 when a man named John McGinest was shot and killed in an alley near Goldstein's home. Goldstein was jailed for the crime and shared a cell with heroin addict Edward Fink. Fink later told authorities that Goldstein confessed to the crime. Prosecutor's apparently based their case on Fink's testimony, despite his credibility issues, and the prosecutors failed to disclose to the defense that they would reduce Fink's sentence due to his cooperation. Long Beach Deputy Attorney Monte Machit still denies that Goldstein was wrongfully arrested or that his constitutional rights were violated and that the City of Long Beach only agreed to the settlement because it would have been more expensive to fight the case.

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A federal court jury has ruled in favor of Chicago police officer Richard Pellerano in a suit brought by plaintiff Gary Murray. Officer Pellerano and his partner, Chris Cannata, had arrested Murray for possession of crack cocaine, resisting arrest and reckless conduct. Murray claimed he did nothing wrong, and was not in possession of any cocaine. The jury rejected all of Murray's claims (false arrest, excessive force and malicious prosecution) and found in favor of Officer Pellerano. The case was presided over by Judge William J. Hibbler. Officer Pellerano was represented by attorneys Andrew Hale and Jonathan Boulahanis from Andrew M. Hale & Associates in Chicago.

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According to news reports in Houston Allen Porter was serving a life sentence for a sexual assault that occurred in 1990.  After 19 years, Porter was able to convince the Harris County District Attorney's Office that he was innocent.  They let him go.  The Texas Court of Appeals must still sign off on his release - but that seems inevitable.  

Based on our experience, Mr. Porter will likely be filing suit.  But its to early to tell what exactly he will allege police did wrong.  At this point, Porter has said "I think that's mainly what it was. [Investigators] just made a big mistake....Everybody makes mistakes."  Well see how long he keeps to that story - but we got a feeling he will soon be singing a different tune.   

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According to the Fox News report: 

Chicago - The reward for information in the case of Officer Michael Bailey’s murder was increased to $129,450 on Wednesday. Twelve law firms that represent Chicago Police Officers and others pledged a total of $28,450 in combined funds. The pledge group was organized by the law office of Andrew M. Hale & Associates. This follows the Park Manor Neighbors’ Community Council pledge of $1,000 on Monday.

Bailey, 62, was a Chicago police veteran of 20 years and was only a few weeks away from retirement at the time of his death. He was shot and killed when someone attempted to rob him in front of his Park Manor home the morning of July 18. Bailey was still in full uniform from working overnight guarding the Mayor’s home.

The following law firms and individuals contributed in the latest reward effort:

$5,000
Andrew M. Hale & Associates
Dykema
Daley Mohan Groble, P.C.

$2,500
James G. Sotos & Associates
Rock Fusco LLC
Querrey & Harrow
Pugh, Jones, Johnson & Quandt, P.C.

$1,000
Leinenweber Baroni & Daffada
Greene & Letts
Borkan & Scahill, Ltd.

$250
Hartigan & O'Connor

$100
Richard A. Devine
Battle Law Office

Chicago Tribune, WLS 890 AM, and ABC7Chicago also reported the increase.  

Anyone with information related to the murder of Officer Bailey can contact Area 2 Detectives at (312) 747-8272.

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In a letter sent today to Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis, Andrew M. Hale & Associates announced it had raised over $23,000 to add to the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people who killed Officer Michael Bailey.

As stated in the letter:

We are all saddened by the recent shooting death of Officer Michael Bailey. It is unfortunate that it takes an incident like this to remind us of the sacrifice officers make every day to keep us safe. We wanted to extend our condolences to Officer Bailey’s family and to the entire Chicago Police Department.

For the last few days we have been discussing how we can help the effort to catch the killers. We obviously cannot go out to canvas neighborhoods or talk to potential witnesses, however we could help with money. We are excited to join the other organizations that have pledged money as a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people that are responsible for Officer Bailey’s tragic death.

To see the firms participating in the latest reward - here is the letter.

We hope they catch these killers and bring them to justice. Officer Bailey's family deserves it. CPD deserves it. We all deserve it!

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 John D (St. Louis, MO) - "I got to have one!" 

Jason W (Los Angeles, CA) - "Took the words out of my mouth - finally" 

Michael C (Detroit, MI) - "Love the shirt just love it!") 

Bob A (xxxx, NY) - "All of my friends on the force have got one send me one" 

Rachel V (Atlanta, GA) - "Love it thanks" 

Want your very own? Let us know

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The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers of Chicago police officer Michael Bailey has been increased to $100,000. That's right, $100K! Come on people, someone has to know something. We need to catch and prosecute these cold-blooded ruthless killers. . . 

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The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that three teens (16, 17, 18) have been detained and questioned regarding the murder of Chicago police officer Michael Bailey. Hopefully, there will be more of this story to follow. . . We will keep you posted. . . 

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