Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Alstory Simon

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

37 years

Years Imprisoned:

15.75

Year Crime:

1982

Year Convicted:

1999

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Alstory Simon was wrongly convicted in 1999 of murder, intent to commit murder, and voluntary manslaughter in a Chicago double murder that occurred in 1982. Simon confession and guilty plea led to the release of Anthony Porter, who had been convicted of the crimes. Simon was sentenced to 37 years in prison and he began serving his sentence on February 7, 1999 (Simon was also sentenced to a 15 year term for the voluntary manslaughter conviction that was to be served concurrently with the 37 year sentence). On October 30, 2014 Alstory Simon's convictions were vacated after a motion by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office was granted. The State's Attorney's Office conceeded that a reinvestigation of his case had determined he falsely confessed. Simon was released later in the day on October 30, 2014. At a press conference after Simon's conviction was vacated Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez told reporters: "The bottom line is that the investigation conducted by Protess and private investigator Ciolino as well as the subsequent legal representation of Mr. Simon were so flawed that it's clear that the constitutional rights of Mr. Simon were not scrupulously protected as our law requires. This conviction therefore cannot stand." ("Cook County prosecutors free inmate in Anthony Porter case," Chicago Tribune, 10-30-2014) In 2015 Simon filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named as defendants: Northwestern University, former professor David Protess, and private investigator Patrick Ciolino. On March 29, U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. deied the defendants motion for summary judgment, ruling in Simon's favor that his lawsuit could go forward. Judge Dow ruling stated he found many of Simon’s allegations to be plausible: "It is reasonable to think that Defendants, who had garnered tremendous prestige (e.g., book deals, a made-for-TV movie, sizable donations, etc.) from their involvement in two high-profile wrongful conviction cases, would be eager to continue their streak of successes,” the judge said. “It is also reasonable to think that Defendants, who allegedly used ethically questionable tactics in their previous investigation, would continue down that path in securing their third in a string of successful exonerations. And finally, it is plausible that the State’s Attorney prosecuted Plaintiff because of the falsified evidence, which consisted of a recanted eyewitness account, a new eyewitness account, and a corroborated confession,” Dow said. “Plaintiff’s malicious prosecution claim therefore is plausible on its face.”"

Conviction Caused By:

False confession.

Innocence Proved By:

"On October 30, 2014 Alstory Simon's conviction was vacated after a motion by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office was granted. The State's Attorney's Office conceeded that a reinvestigation of his case had determined he falsely confessed."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

49

Age When Released:

64

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Cook County prosecutors free inmate in Anthony Porter case, By Steve Mills (Staff writer), Chicago Tribune, 20-30-2014"

Information Location 1:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-anthony-porter-murder-investigation-met-1031-2-20141030-story.html#page=1

Information Source 2:

"Illinois releases prisoner, bringing wrongful conviction full circle, By Fiona Ortiz (Staff writers), Reuters, October 30, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-usa-illinois-murder-innocence-idUSKBN0IJ21I20141030

Information Source 3:

"Man cleared of double murder OK'd to sue Northwestern, journalism professor he says put him behind bars, By Jonathan Bilyk, CookCountyRecord.com, March 30, 2016"

Information Location 3:

http://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/510704771-man-cleared-of-double-murder-ok-d-to-sue-northwestern-journalism-professor-he-says-put-him-behind-bars

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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