Dugan's lawyers will try to save life of murderer

Brian Dugan admitted in a packed courtroom that he murdered a Naperville schoolgirl, but his real battle lies ahead as his legal team fights to save the convicted killer's life.

Lawyers return to court early today to settle lingering pretrial issues as they prepare to move into the second phase of the proceedings related to the brutal slaying of Jeanine Nicarico.

The 52-year-old Aurora man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the Feb. 25, 1983, fatal beating of 10-year-old Jeanine in a crime for which three other men once stood accused. Two of those men faced execution before being exonerated.

Dugan has not been a free man since summer 1985. He is serving two life prison terms for the sex slayings of Donna Schnorr, a 27-year-old Geneva nurse, and 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman of Somonauk, both of whom were attacked after Jeanine.

It was during his 1985 plea negotiations for the later murders that Dugan first offered to admit guilt in Jeanine's abduction, rape and murder, but only if prosecutors agreed they would not seek the death penalty - a deal they still won't make.

In admitting his guilt this week, rather than fighting to prove his innocence at trial, an apologetic Dugan said in a written note he hoped to bring Jeanine's parents and the community "a small measure of resolution in their search for the truth."

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Dugan, who has a choice of whether he wants a jury or judge to decide his fate. Dugan is expected to take a gamble with a jury. Despite presiding over several murder cases, DuPage Circuit Judge George Bakalis hasn't been faced with doling out a death sentence during his 20-year judicial career.

Lawyers prepared an 84-item questionnaire for potential jurors to answer on topics delving into their backgrounds, knowledge of the criminal case and death penalty feelings.

A large jury pool will be asked to appear Sept. 18 at the DuPage County courthouse in Wheaton to fill out the questionnaire. Afterward, the arduous task of jury selection is set to begin Sept. 22.

The trial's next two phases - death penalty eligibility and sentencing - may stretch as far as Thanksgiving.

In Illinois, to be eligible for death, a defendant must be at least 18 and be found to have committed at least one of several statutory factors. Prosecutors argue Dugan is eligible under several, including that he killed more than one person; did so during another felony, such as rape; and that he acted in a cold, calculated, premeditated manner.

If he is eligible, jurors will be asked to make one of two choices - natural life without parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors will detail Dugan's violent history, dating to his teenage years when he tried to abduct a child near a Lisle train station, as well as arsons, batteries, burglaries, drug offenses, thefts, rapes and three murders.

They'll also likely use his own words.

"I don't deserve life," Dugan said during an October 1986 taped interview for a state police study of sexual predators. "I know that intellectually, but I'm selfish."

Jeanine's family also will deliver an emotional impact statement, urging the killer's death.

To counter the violence, his defense team is expected to argue Dugan survived a rough upbringing in an unstable home, suffered physical and sexual abuse while behind bars, is worthy of mercy since he accepted responsibility and showed remorse through his guilty plea, and that he long ago tried to save the wrongly convicted men's lives. They also may argue a fate worse than death is spending a lifetime in prison. Dugan has been stabbed and repeatedly beaten by other inmates throughout his incarceration.

His lawyers have not sought a venue change to move the high-profile case out of DuPage County. Court officials aren't certain yet how many residents they'll summon for jury duty, but, last year, a pool of about 100 was brought in for a Naperville man later sentenced to death for the murders of his parents, sister and her husband.

Dugan declined repeated Daily Herald requests to interview him in the DuPage County jail. In his recent letter, he described his remorse.

He wrote: "For more than two decades, I have been a prisoner of my myself; haunted by my violence; imprisoned by my own self-loathing and doomed to defend my ugliest moments. I deeply regret all the pain and suffering I caused."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="/story/?id=308729">Dugan's criminal background</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=308727">Timeline of Nicarico murder investigation, trials</a></li> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=309831">Dugan admits Nicarico murder without deal to save own life<span class="date">[07/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=310026">The statement Brian Dugan wanted to read in court<span class="date">[07/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=310014">Nicarico neighbor recalls the search for Jeanine, painful aftermath?<span class="date">[07/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=310033">State moratorium on executions - 10 years and counting<span class="date">[07/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=310040">A timeline of the Nicarico-Dugan cases<span class="date">[07/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=308853">After a lifetime of violence, will jury show Dugan mercy?<span class="date">[07/23/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=308535">Guilty plea expected in Nicarico murder <span class="date">[07/22/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=203555">Did one Chicago-area killer create another? <span class="date">[06/05/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=308721">Inside the FBI files of Brian Dugan <span class="date">[01/07/07]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=308724">Grand jury indicts Dugan in Nicarico murder <span class="date">[11/30/05]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>