Da: "coalit" A: "amici coalit" ; "lista gaia" Oggetto: [listacoalit] Fw: Update on Aaron Patterson's Case Data: sabato 15 dicembre 2001 12.47 > Dear Supporters: > > Enclosed is the latest news report on Aaron's case as of Thursday, Dec. 13, > 2002 court appearance. It was a long day but rewarding, as to some hope for > my son. Enclosed is the next day report of the event during that long day at > court. I cannot thank the reporter for enduring the stay in order to make > her report. See below as published in the Chicago Tribune Newspaper. > > Death Row inmate clears hurdle in bid for retrial > >By Kirsten Scharnberg Tribune staff reporter December 14, 2001 > > > >Aaron Patterson, the Death Row inmate who has long proclaimed his innocence > >in a 1986 double slaying, moved one step closer to getting a new trial on > >Thursday. > >Judge Michael P. Toomin agreed to hear arguments next week on whether > >Patterson should be entitled to a new trial. Toomin said he would allow > >attorneys on both sides to question Patterson's former lawyer on whether he > >so badly bungled the case that a new trial should be granted on the grounds > >of inadequate legal representation. > >The Cook County judge asked prosecutors and defense attorneys to be back in > >his courtroom Monday morning. > >Patterson's case, which has gained renown among death penalty critics who are > >convinced he was wrongfully convicted, has been fraught with controversy from > >the start. > > > >The 37-year-old South Side man has said he confessed to the stabbing of a > >South Side couple only after he was beaten by Chicago police officers, who > >also tried to suffocate him. > >His allegations have gained attention in recent years after city officials > >determined Lt. Jon Burge and his police officers in the former Burnside Area > >used force to coerce dozens of confessions. > >Also, Patterson's attorneys have said that evidence that might exonerate > >their client is missing and that a key witness says she testified only > >because prosecutors threatened to put her in jail. > > > >Patterson's team of lawyers also has argued that their client, a former > >leader of one of the city's most violent street gangs, received a defense > >that was sorely lacking. > >"We made more headway today than we ever have in the past," one of > >Patterson's attorneys, Tim Lohraff, said Thursday outside the courtroom. > >The controversial murder case was returned to Toomin's courtroom only > >recently, when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in August that two of > >Patterson's claims--of police torture and of inadequate legal counsel > >--deserved new hearings. Toomin did not address the issue of torture > >Thursday, saying instead that he would hear evidence on the > >inadequate-counsel claim. > >To bolster their argument that Patterson was shoddily represented in his 1989 > >trial, his attorneys filed an affidavit by his trial lawyer, Brian Dosch. > > > >In the six-page document, Dosch acknowledged being "at least the fourth > >public defender" assigned to the case and to having "numerous other serious > >felony cases, including many death penalty cases," assigned to him at the > >same time. Dosch further stated that he failed to call Patterson to the stand > >during the trial even though he had told the jury during opening statements > >that Patterson would testify in his own defense. > >Before Toomin left the bench Thursday, he chastised one of Patterson's > >attorneys, Standish Willis, for a letter-writing campaign to free Patterson. > >The judge took issue with at least five such letters, with Willis' return > >address, that had arrived at his chambers. > > > >Lohraff said that if the new trial is granted, he will request evidentiary > >hearings on the police torture that his client has alleged. For now, getting > >a new trial on the grounds of inadequate counsel would be enough, he said. > > > >Copyright (c) 2001, Chicago Tribune