The Chicago Tribune is reporting this morning that:
Roughly a month after the advent of a law allowing the wrongfully convicted to circumvent the governor in seeking certificates of innocence, Gov. Rod Blagojevich pardoned four exonerated men convicted of crimes ranging from rape to murder.
Two weeks ago, the men filed for certificates of innocence with the circuit courts after waiting for a response from Blagojevich, who has been criticized for taking too much time to respond to clemency petitions. Blagojevich pardoned 26 people Thursday.
Among those pardoned based on innocence were Marlon Pendleton and Jerry Miller, who were falsely convicted of sexual assault charges before DNA evidence exonerated them. Also pardoned was Luis Ortiz, convicted of a torture-murder in 1997 and exonerated in 2002, and Robert Wilson, pardoned after nearly a decade in prison for an attempted murder after he was falsely identified.
The Tribune does not identify all 26 individuals.
The clemency petitions are not the method by which these individuals were or are released from prison. In Jerry Miller's case, he has been free for some time. His request for a pardon is merely a formality. Miller needs an innocence pardon to seek money for his imprisonment from the Illinois Court of Claims. Given Blagojevich's lengthy time to respond to clemency petitions, lawyers for these individuals lobbied for a new law allowing a judge to issue a "certificate of innocence" to circumvent the Governor and allow for a petition before the Illinois Court of Claims. Not clear who beat whom to the punch, but these individuals either got certificates and/or pardons based on innocence.
As previously reported by the Center, Jerry Miller has a federal lawsuit against the City of Chicago, several police officers, and crime lab personnel.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a pardon from the governor, even a pardon declaring innocence, does not automatically clear a criminal record. The person receiving the pardon would still have to petition a trial court to expunge the conviction, which the court has the discretion to do or not do. The major issue the Supreme Court dealt with was whether the legislature gave the courts the authority to expunge a record. The Court held that the lawmakers have certainly done that. As such, the circuit courts have the discretion to clear the record or not, even if the Governor declares someone innocent.The Case arouse out of the petition of Stanley Howard and Dana Holland. Both Howard and Holland received innocence pardons. See the full Illinois Supreme Court Opinion. 