Fight to Exonerate Two Chicago Men of 1989 Murder Continues

03.09.17 By Innocence Staff

Fight to Exonerate Two Chicago Men of 1989 Murder Continues

Innocence Project attorneys were back in a Chicago courtroom on Wednesday, arguing for the innocence of clients Kevin Bailey and Corey Batchelor, who were convicted of a 1989 murder that DNA shows they did not commit.

Bailey and Batchelor were convicted in 1991 of killing the wife of a retired Chicago police sergeant. Both men (who were teenagers at the time they were convicted) have long maintained their innocence, saying they falsely confessed after being threatened, physically assaulted and fed information about the crime by Chicago police. The confessions were taken after lengthy interrogations by the notorious “midnight crew,” a group of detectives at the Area 2 Chicago police headquarters that have been repeatedly accused of using violent and confrontational tactics to obtain confessions.

Batchelor was sentenced to 30 years in prison and was released on parole in 2004, but Bailey remains behind bars serving an 80-year sentence.

Recent DNA testing shows that hair found in a hat left at the crime scene excludes both Bailey and Batchelor as the source of the hair.

The case is expected to conclude in April.

Read the CBS News coverage here.

Related: Exoneree Jarrett Adams Defends Kevin Bailey’s Innocence in Chicago Court

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John Grier March 10, 2017 at 4:55 am Reply   

Your organization seems to be actually doing what you do. I’ve read about a few people recently that you have helped. I don’t know how to articulate what I’m trying to say, so, I hope you keep going and free many, many more. And hopefully, you’ll put some of those wicked law enforcement agents in prison who’ve wrongfully inprisoned others.