Posted on 12/05/2006 5:16:17 AM PST by KeyLargo
'He should not have been on the street'
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/160152,CST-NWS-ealy05.article)
December 5, 2006
BY ERIC HERMAN AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
Two decades before he allegedly murdered Mary Hutchison in a suburban Burger King, James Ealy was convicted of murdering a pregnant woman and three children on Chicago's West Side.
But an appellate court threw out his conviction -- and left prosecutors no evidence to try him again.
"He should not have been on the street," said Brian Telander, who prosecuted Ealy as an assistant Cook County state's attorney. "He was an evil, evil person."
Telander, 54, said he felt "sick" when he heard Ealy had allegedly killed again. "I'm a defense lawyer now, and obviously I recognize that the law has to be followed," he said. "But this was a person that there was just no doubt he was guilty."
Last week, a co-worker discovered Hutchison's body inside a Burger King in Lindenhurst northeast of Waukegan. Hutchison, 45, was found next to an open, empty safe. She had been strangled with the bow tie from her uniform, prosecutors said.
On Saturday, a Lake County judge ordered Ealy held without bond after prosecutors charged him with the murder. Prosecutors said Ealy, who formerly had worked at the Burger King as a maintenance man, killed Hutchison after robbing the restaurant.
Ealy "made incriminating statements" during videotaped questioning, Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller said. And a search of his Lake Villa apartment yielded currency linked to the Burger King robbery, as well as clothes he purportedly wore during the murder.
No probable cause: court
For Telander, hearing how Hutchison had been strangled brought back memories -- horrible memories -- of the Parker case.
On Aug. 16, 1982, police discovered the bodies of Christine Parkerd three children -- Mary Ann, Cora and Jontae -- in a seventh-floor apartment in the Rockwell Gardens housing project. The victims had been strangled, and Jontae, a 3-year-old boy, had been raped. Christine Parker was pregnant.
Ealy, then 17, had been dating 15-year-old Mary Ann Parker. Police questioned him and searched his bedroom, where they found evidence linking him to the crime, including a length of khaki material similar to what was found embedded in the neck of one victim.
During 18 hours of interrogation -- during which Ealy claimed he was deprived of sleep and food -- police say Ealy confessed to the murders. A jury found him guilty, but the Illinois appellate court reversed the verdict.
In an opinion written by Justice James C. Murray, and joined by fellow justices Francis Lorenz and R. Eugene Pincham, the court found Chicago Police lacked probable cause when they took Ealy into custody.
Since the confession and searches of his bedroom stemmed from the faulty arrest, that evidence should have been excluded from trial, Murray wrote. Without that evidence, prosecutors decided not to retry the case.
Cook County Judge Thomas Maloney, who had presided over Ealy's trial, expressed horror when the decision came down.
"Maloney said from the bench that the appellate court should take out billboards warning the people of Chicago that this monster had been let loose," Telander said.
Victim's ex-husband 'stunned'
Maloney was convicted in 1993 of taking bribes to fix cases. Murray died in 1999. Lorenz and Pincham could not be reached for comment.
Grant Nothnagle, Hutchison's ex-husband, said he was "stunned" to learn Ealy had gone free in the 1982 case. "I just hope at this point the system does not allow another loophole like that," he said.
At the time of his arrest in 1982, Ealy was on bond for a rape committed in the same Rockwell Gardens building, Telander said. Catholic Charities bailed him out. The prestigious law firm Jenner & Block represented Ealy on his appeal in the Parker case.
Contributing: Lisa Donovan and Dan Rozek
After committing four murders, this scum was allowed by Cook County judges to be free to murder again.Correction: After committing four murders, this scum was allowed by Cook County scumbag judges to be free to murder again.
L
Fry this basturd!
Anyone else notice that the 15 year old had a child when she was 12?
"When Ealy's murder conviction was overturned, he was serving a 23-year sentence for a rape. He was paroled in that case in 1993, but was convicted in 1996 of attacking a prostitute on the South Side.
After picking the woman up and paying her $10 for sex, he showed her a gun and put a knife to her side and told her "this is the last day of her life," according to court records. The woman saw a police car, grabbed the steering wheel of Ealy's car and caused a crash, and police arrested him. He was convicted of unlawful restraint and gun possession and sentenced to 10 years. He was paroled in 1999, according to state records."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-061204bkslaying,1,5643336.story?coll=chi-news-hed
American court systems idea of justice, "it's not the murders that matter,it's only the technicalities that are important". And another innocent life is ended !!!
The problem I see is easily shown by the above quote, i.e., the judges are NOT identified. When Judges can no longer act anonymously, scum like Ealy will not be out on the streets.
Figures that he was involved in freeing a fellow homey.
(yes, that's derogatory and yeah I meant it, the guy's a 'hate whitey' maggot)
Let me guess, the usuals like the msm Jesse and Al will not come out of the woodwork for this event either.
ping
Who were the "appelate court" judges?
Where are they now?
Has anyone thought to interview them, ask for their comments?
If I was a member of the victim's family, I sure as hell would "interview" them.
when decisions like this are made and the criminals murder and rape with the aid of judges let's expose them... it's easy enough to find names and photos....
I think it would be a public service....
Any Freeper interest???
These judges should be hounded by a mail campaign for their responsibility for this death.
Read it again (see post #12)-- they are named.
See post #14.
He was found guilty in cook County. He was set free to kill again by appellate judges is Springfield.
WTF?
Catholic Charities using its money to bail out someone arrested for a violent crime? I guess I will think twice about making any donations to them in the future.
The victim in last week's murder was a resident of the same county in which I live. I've had it with the city of Chicago exporting its filth up this way. This whole thing makes my blood boil.
Please read the article.
"In an opinion written by Justice James C. Murray, and joined by fellow justices Francis Lorenz and R. Eugene Pincham, the court found Chicago Police lacked probable cause when they took Ealy into custody.
Since the confession and searches of his bedroom stemmed from the faulty arrest, that evidence should have been excluded from trial, Murray wrote. Without that evidence, prosecutors decided not to retry the case."
Yeah, far better to allow the government to run rough-shod over our rights. No need to worry about Due Process or anything trivial like that. It must be the judge's fault.
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