Dugan defense team argues early cooperation is mitigation
Twenty-four years ago, Brian Dugan admitted he alone abducted, raped and killed 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico of Naperville.
But did he offer to confess back then simply to save his own neck or that of two innocent men on death row for his crime?
His defense team argues it is the latter. They began presenting evidence Wednesday to try to convince a DuPage County jury there are mitigating reasons to spare the triple murderer's life despite his horrific violence.
Dugan, 53, has been serving natural life prison terms since 1985 for the sex slayings of nurse Donna Schnorr, 27, of Geneva, and 7-year-old Missy Ackerman of Somonauk. Jurors also heard about his nine other rapes or attempts from 1974 to 1985 of young women who survived.
He pleaded guilty three months ago to killing Jeanine, which marked his first murder, Feb. 25, 1983. Prosecutors indicted Dugan in late 2005 after citing, in part, improved DNA evidence. They are seeking his execution as the hard-fought sentencing hearing stretches through its fourth week.
Gary Garretson, a former first-assistant LaSalle County state's attorney involved in Missy's murder prosecution, testified Wednesday that Dugan's plea deals did not require him to continue talking about what happened to Jeanine.
But, the defense contends, Dugan did just that despite the fact DuPage County prosecutors back then weren't listening. Dugan would only officially confess if the death penalty was taken off the table. Prosecutors refused. They also didn't believe Dugan because he had some details of the crime wrong.
"(They) thought they had the correct people who were responsible for Jeanine's death," Garretson said.
The wrongly accused men, including Rolando Cruz, were exonerated in 1995.
If it weren't for Dugan's cooperation with law enforcement back then, the defense maintains, many of his crimes would remain unsolved for lack of evidence. In fact, Garretson testified, Kane County assistant state's attorney John Barsanti told him in 1985 they lacked enough evidence to prosecute Dugan for Schnorr's murder without the plea confession. Barsanti is now the head Kane County state's attorney.
"Unless I do this (give Dugan a life term) I have no case," Garretson quoted Barsanti as saying to him back then. "I'm not going to be able to convict Mr. Dugan."
Upon cross examination, DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett pointed out Dugan's cooperation in all three murder cases was contingent on his own life being spared.
Roger Cowan, a retired prison warden, also gave jurors Wednesday a view of Dugan's future should members sentence him to his third life term in prison. Dugan will be allowed restricted visits, recreation, extracurricular programs, outdoor access and free medical and dental. But, for the most part, he'll spend about 18 hours a day locked with another inmate in a 7-by-11 foot cell in a block for violent felons.
Pat and Tom Nicarico support the death penalty for their daughter's murder. The sentencing hearing continues today in Wheaton.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <!-- Start of Brightcove Player --> <div style="display:none"> </div> <!-- By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and C found at http://corp.brightcove.com/legal/terms_publisher.cfm. --> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script> <object id="myExperience43606475001" class="BrightcoveExperience"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /> <param name="width" value="300" /> <param name="height" value="255" /> <param name="playerID" value="18011347001" /> <param name="publisherID" value="1659832549"/> <param name="isVid" value="true" /> <param name="@videoPlayer" value="43606475001" /> </object> <!-- End of Brightcove Player --> </ul> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=325418">Images of Brian Dugan's victims </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=325419">Images of Brian Dugan </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=325420">Images of Nicarico's wrongly accused </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=325421">Images from Brian Dugan's trial </a></li> </ul> <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> <li><a href="/story/?id=326654">Brian Dugan's victims</a></li> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=326645">Dugan defense team argues early cooperation is mitigation <span class="date">[10/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=332175">Judge to decide whether Dugan jury will hear controversial science <span class="date">[10/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=331325">Family of slain Naperville girl tells jury of their loss <span class="date">[10/24/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=326645">Cruz: Dugan confessed to save himself <span class="date">[10/02/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=325829">Jury picked to decide Dugan's sentencing <span class="date">[10/02/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=317249">Dugan says he tried to confess in '85 to Nicarico slaying <span class="date">[08/28/09]</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>