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| Alstory Simon |
Judge rules Alstory Simon may have been coerced into 1999 confession that led to release of man originally convicted of murders, Anthony Porter
A man whose whose taped confession to a 1982 double-murder in Chicago damned himself but helped free a death row prisoner has been released from jail after more than 15 years amid claims his confession had been coerced.
Alstory Simon’s 1999 confession sparked a debate about capital punishment that eventually led to the end of the death penalty in Illinois. It was critical in securing the release of the man initially convicted of the murders, Anthony Porter, who came within 48 hours of being executed. Porter had spent 16 years on death row.
Simon’s release follows revelations that his own prosecution, conviction and 37-year prison sentence were deeply flawed, raising the prospect that an innocent man may have swapped seats behind bars with a man who was guilty after all. Though he effectively took Porter’s place in Cook County prison, new information has surfaced that suggests Simon’s videotaped confession to the murders of Marilyn Green and her fiancé, Jerry Hillard, was false and coerced.
In the video, Simon confessed to murdering the couple near a pool in Chicago’s South Side, saying it was an act of self-defence. But Simon’s current defence lawyer, Terry Ekl, has argued that the confession was forced out of him through threats and inducements.
Source: The Guardian, October 30, 2014
