Omar Saunders

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Charge:	"Murder, Robbery, Kidnapping and Sexual Assault"
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	14
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1988
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Chicago
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Omar Saunders was a codefendant of Larry Ollins, Calvin Ollins and Marcellius Bradford. The four defendants were wrongly convicted of the October 18, 1986 rape and murder of Lorri Roscetti in Chicago, Illinois. Bradford falsely confessed and testified against his codefendants to get a lighter sentence. His three co-defendants were convicted even though tests showed the men's blood type didn't match the perpetrator. He later recanted, saying police coerced him into falsely confessing and that he did so to avoid a life sentence. He said: "'I am ready to go back to court and admit I lied. I am willing to go the whole nine yards. I think about this every day--and I will skateboard into hell.'" (Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2001). In 2001 DNA tests unavailable at the time of the men's trial excluded them. The four men were pardoned by IL Gov. George Ryan in October 2002. Saunders and his three codefendants were each awarded $120,000 in compensation by the State of Illinois in 2003. Omar Saunders agreed to a $4 million settlement of his federal civil rights lawsuit against the Ciity of Chicago in April 2007."
Conviction Caused By:	"False informant and prosecution expert witness misconduct, and false confession by co-defendant Marcellius Bradford "
Innocence Proved By:	In 2001 DNA tests unavailable at the time of the men's trial excluded all four co-defendants. The four men were pardoned by IL Gov George Ryan in October 2002.
Defendant Aided By:	Attorney Kathleen Zellner represented the four codefendants post-conviction.
Compensation Awarded:	"$4,120,000 total. $120,000 (State of Illinois, 2003) and $4 million (City of Chicago, April 2007)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"DNA test rules out 4 inmates: Lawyer for men plans to ask court for their freedom," Maurice Possley & Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune, Nov. 14, 2001."
Information Location 1:	http://www.truthinjustice.org/chicago-dna.htm
Information Source 2:	"Four Wrongly Convicted Meet As Free Men, Ted Gregory (staff), Chicago Tribune July 24, 2002"
Information Location 2:	"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0207240272jul24,1,4203410.story"
Information Source 3:	"2 Charged in 'Roscetti Case, Chicago Sun-Times, Feb 8, 2002"
Information Location 3:	http://www.kathleentzellner.com/news35.html
Information Source 4:	"Chicago Pays $8 Million To End Roscetti Four Lawsuit, By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied, Issue 36 (Spring 2007), p. 9"
Information Location 4:	http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_36/chicago_jd36.pdf
Information Source 5:
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Go to Database Search Page

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Omar Saunders

Charge:

"Murder, Robbery, Kidnapping and Sexual Assault"

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

14

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1988

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"False informant and prosecution expert witness misconduct, and false confession by co-defendant Marcellius Bradford "

Innocence Proved By:

In 2001 DNA tests unavailable at the time of the men's trial excluded all four co-defendants. The four men were pardoned by IL Gov George Ryan in October 2002.

Defendant Aided By:

Attorney Kathleen Zellner represented the four codefendants post-conviction.

Compensation Awarded:

"$4,120,000 total. $120,000 (State of Illinois, 2003) and $4 million (City of Chicago, April 2007)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"DNA test rules out 4 inmates: Lawyer for men plans to ask court for their freedom," Maurice Possley & Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune, Nov. 14, 2001."

Information Location 1:

http://www.truthinjustice.org/chicago-dna.htm

Information Source 2:

"Four Wrongly Convicted Meet As Free Men, Ted Gregory (staff), Chicago Tribune July 24, 2002"

Information Location 2:

"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0207240272jul24,1,4203410.story"

Information Source 3:

"2 Charged in 'Roscetti Case, Chicago Sun-Times, Feb 8, 2002"

Information Location 3:

http://www.kathleentzellner.com/news35.html

Information Source 4:

"Chicago Pays $8 Million To End Roscetti Four Lawsuit, By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied, Issue 36 (Spring 2007), p. 9"

Information Location 4:

http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_36/chicago_jd36.pdf

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: