DNA cases marring state’s attorney’s tenure
A year from now, Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Waller will be retiring, serving more than 22 years as the chief prosecutor. Unfortunately, that tenure, more than 10 years longer than anyone else who has held that job, is marred by the outcome of a few high-profile cases.
Only Waller can help fix it. We hope he takes positive action, and we urge other county state’s attorneys to reflect on their performance as well.
The bulk of the controversy surrounding the office and some of the prosecutors who work there comes from their apparent unwillingness to accept DNA evidence when it points away from the people they are prosecuting.
On Friday, the Illinois Appellate Court threw out the third conviction of Juan Rivera for the 1992 rape and murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker of Waukegan. In doing so, the court said “no rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”
That ruling stems from DNA tests in 2005 that disclosed that semen taken from Holly’s body could not have come from Rivera.
Instead, prosecutors tried to dismiss the DNA evidence as inconsequential, relying instead on a confession from Rivera that had its own set of controversial issues surrounding it. And they tried to say it was likely the 11-year-old victim had sex with someone else prior to the murder.
As Legal Affairs Writer Tony Gordon detailed on Sunday, the Rivera case is not the only one to consider when looking at how the Lake County state’s attorney’s office conducts its business.
Jerry Hobbs III of Zion was in jail for five years, accused of killing his daughter and another girl. But DNA taken from his daughter’s body was matched to a man in custody in another state for other crimes. Hobbs, who was in jail for two years after the DNA evidence was found but before it was matched to someone else, is suing the county for wrongful prosecution.
Bernie Starks, also of Zion, is waiting for an appellate court decision on his request to be spared another trial for a 1986 conviction for sexual assault and aggravated battery. DNA taken from the 69-year-old victim is not a match to Starks.
Finally, Gordon recounted that police are reinvestigating the case of a 1994 murder of a Waukegan store owner after it was discovered that blood found inside the victim’s store and car does not match James Edwards, currently serving a life sentence.
The most damning evidence, however, comes from one of the lead prosecutors on these high-profile cases. He was quoted in a New York Times article late last month challenging the DNA evidence in the Rivera and Hobbs cases.
“We don’t quaver because somebody holds up three letters: DNA,” Michael Mermel told the newspaper. Last week, it was announced Mermel will retire early in January.
Waller, meanwhile, was forced to defend his office and its work. He needs to do more than issue statements. A thorough review of past cases and a strong plan moving forward is needed.