In part three of Falsely Accused, Unjustly Convicted, Johnnie Lee Savory describes how the results of his first trial were thrown out when he was 17 years old.
In 1980, the 3rd District Appellate Court of Illinois found that Johnnie's false confession should never have been presented to the jury. (You can read about how Johnnie was coerced into falsely confessing to double murder when he was 14 years old here.) The Court then ordered a new trial.
Without his false confession, the prosecution admitted to Peoria's Journal Star that they had no case against Johnnie.
It looked as if Johnnie was going to be released after spending three years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
The prosecution, however, did not let the truth get in their way. Lacking credible evidence that would tie Johnnie to the scene of the crime, they manufactured a case against him.
The prosecution struck a deal with a man in prison, and got him and two of his relatives to testify that Johnnie had admitted to them that he was responsible for the murders.
Despite the fact that these witnesses had not testified in the first trial, the all-white jury convicted Johnnie and re-sentenced him to 40-80 years in prison.
In 2003, two of the three witnesses who testified against Johnnie recanted their testimony, telling authorities under oath that they had been pressured by police to lie about Johnnie Lee Savory.
At every turn, Johnnie has fought back against the awkward wrath of a broken legal system.
Now it's your turn.
Join Johnnie's fight for justice today by sending one e-mail.
Click here and tell IL Governor Rod Blagojevich to order DNA testing on the evidence that was used to send Johnnie to prison for 30 years for a crime he did not commit.
If you're on facebook, look up Johnnie Lee Savory and join the Justice for Savory group. You can also find Johnnie on MySpace here.
If you have any questions or comments about Justice for Savory, send us an e-mai at justiceforsavory@gmail.com
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John Maki
John Maki is a new media consultant for Chicago non-profits. In his spare time, John is also a multi-media producer and contributor for The Windy Citizen. Before working in new media, John taught high school literature, and before that was a graduate student in English literature at the University of Chicago. John is currently in his third year at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
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How can you persuade a 14-year old to confess to a double murder he never committed, and then put him in jail for 3 years, letting the true criminal walk free? What are we paying taxes for? Are we better off without the cops altogether?
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