Convicted killer from Des Plaines to stay in prison while bid for new trial is pending
Ronald Kliner, the former Des Plaines man convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire of a Palatine Township woman, will remain in prison while he waits for a judge to rule on his attorneys' motion for a new trial.
Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt on Friday denied Kliner's attorneys' request that he be released in advance of the ruling because his age and health make him susceptible to COVID-19.
"Mr. Kliner should not die in prison for something he didn't do," said Tara Thompson, who acknowledged to Greenblatt the relief Kliner seeks is "extraordinary," coming as it does before the court has ruled on Kliner's motion for a new trial.
Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Carol Rogala disagreed, saying there "is no basis in the law for Mr. Kliner to be released at this time."
No legal basis exists for the court to set aside "a sentence which as of today has been lawfully imposed," she said.
"There is an avenue for the relief he seeks," she said, referring to a petition to the governor.
Citing the case's voluminous records, the lead prosecutor's recent retirement and precautions necessitated by COVID-19, Rogala asked for at least 60 days to respond to the defense's latest petition.
"There is a huge record to review," she said of the 111 exhibits accompanying the petition.
Kliner, 59, attended the hearing via teleconference. Visibly upset by the ruling, he pointed his thumb downward.
Greenblatt, who was assigned the case after another Rolling Meadows judge recused himself, set Jan. 8 for the next hearing. Greenblatt acknowledged that Kliner "is entitled to a disposition of this matter in a prompt fashion." But he also noted the defense motion exceeds 1,000 pages with exhibits and that there are "10 boxes of pleadings in the clerk's office that very well might require my attention."
Kliner initially received the death penalty for the shooting of 28-year-old Dana Rinaldi, but his sentence was commuted to natural life by then-Gov. George Ryan in 2003. Kliner, who has persisted in his claim of innocence for more than 27 years, seeks a new trial based on prosecution witnesses he claims are not credible, the absence of DNA linking him to the crime and defense witnesses who can provide him an alibi.
According to prosecutors, Kliner shot Dana Rinaldi five times in the head in February 1988 at the behest of her husband Joseph Rinaldi, who authorities say was having marital and financial problems. Rinaldi subsequently testified for the prosecution and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. A third co-defendant, Michael Permanian, was also sentenced to 60 years for the murder.