Was A Convicted Murderer Wrongfully Released From Death Row?
Chuck Goudie from ABC News in Chicago reports that in a complaint filed with the Illinois Supreme Court's Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Bill Crawford, a new witness has come forward claiming that he witnessed Anthony Porter shoot and kill two people at a park in Chicago in 1982. Ray Brown, who was 12 years old at the time, now states "I seen Tony Porter do it, I looked right in his face and I seen him, seen his long braids, he's got a tattoo in his face, I seen everything." In an affidavit that is part of Crawford's complaint, Brown states that "[Porter] terrified the neighborhood, he was a stone cold killer. So, when anyone hear his name, Tony Porter, everybody run in your house. He had a bad reputation. I'm 42 now and that happened over 30 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday." Brown says he never went to the police because he was a scared 12-year old and because Porter was arrested and convicted. In his affidavit, Brown further states "The police locked him up for it so I thought it was a done deal till I seen him on the news getting out and I'm like how did he get out when he killed them? And they showed another guy's face and that wasn't the guy who killed them." Crawford's complaint alleges that attorney Jack Rimland, who was the attorney for Alstory Simon, who later confessed to the shooting, of intentionally withholding evidence that Simon was actually innocent and his confession was coerced. After Simon's confession, Porter was released from prison and brought a civil lawsuit against the Chicago police handling his case. A jury rejected Porter's claims that he was maliciously prosecuted. Stay tuned - this story has a long way to go and things will be getting very interesting.
