Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is launching a unit to investigate cases in which new evidence could prove the innocence of people convicted of serious crimes.
“Wrongful convictions destroy lives. Wrongful convictions diminish faith in our criminal justice system,” Raoul said Tuesday at a downtown news conference, flanked by state’s attorneys and members of the new unit. “They put victims and public safety at risk by allowing the true perpetrators to escape unpunished.”
Raoul, who was sworn in as attorney general in 2019, said creating the Conviction Integrity Unit has long been on his agenda and that his office has spent years researching best practices.
Raoul said his unit will supplement the efforts of state’s attorneys offices including Cook County’s, which has its own Conviction Review Unit to investigate claims of innocence. Under outgoing State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, the office has vacated more than 250 convictions.
The office is not intended to “supplant” the work being done by the Cook County Conviction Review Unit or any other state’s attorney’s offices reviewing claims of innocence, Raoul said. Cook County State’s Attorney-elect Eileen O’Neill Burke signaled the county Conviction Review Unit’s work would continue “in vibrant fashion” after she takes office.
The attorney general’s unit is partially funded by a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Raoul said. The grant has already been received, Raoul said, addressing concerns that President-elect Donald Trump could pull federal support from some state programs.
After that, “we’ll figure things out,” he said. “We’ve lived through the roller coaster ride of different views from different Departments of Justice, but our work does not stop.”
In order to be considered for review by the unit, there must be new, credible evidence in cases that resulted in a conviction in Illinois state court on charges of a forcible felony such as murder, aggravated battery or criminal sexual assault, Raoul said. The person behind the claim must be incarcerated for the conviction in question at the time the claim is made. The unit won’t consider pending petitions or appeals.
The convicted person must also be claiming actual innocence — that they did not commit the acts in question.
After claims are investigated by the unit, it will make a recommendation to the attorney general. If the evidence points to innocence, the AG will work with local state’s attorneys to determine whether to seek relief from a conviction or sentence, Raoul said.
The new office will include experienced prosecutors, people who have previously worked in state’s attorney’s offices and a former FBI agent, Raoul said. In addition to reviewing cases, it will also collect data on wrongful convictions in order to prevent more from happening in the future.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said the new state-level office would help counties like hers that don’t have the resources to take on requests for reviews of convictions.
“To have a group of people who — this is their expertise, who can say that yes, it was done right, or no, there was a miscarriage of justice, is exactly what we need in the criminal justice system, so that people believe in us and what we’ve done,” she said at the news conference.
James Soto, who with his cousin was longest-serving exoneree in Illinois history when he was released from prison last year, had some reservations but overall said he was happy to hear about about the the new conviction integrity office and the potential for collaboration between Raoul and Burke.
“This gives me hope and optimism that there will be another way in which people can present these claims,” Soto, who wrongfully served 42 years in prison, said when reached by phone Tuesday. He said he believes the problem of wrongful convictions is widespread not just in Cook County but throughout Illinois.
Cook County’s wrongful conviction unit came under scrutiny last year when its leader, Assistant State’s Attorney Nancy Adduci, was demoted and then fired.
Adduci, who is white, later filed a lawsuit against Foxx, alleging she was discriminated against because of her age and race.
Adduci had come under scrutiny over her work in prosecuting defendants accused of killing Chicago police Officer Clifton Lewis in 2011. Defense attorneys accused police and prosecutors who handled the case of misconduct.
Her replacement as head of the unit, Michelle Mbekeani, stepped down after a short tenure to prepare for the birth of her child and because she didn’t plan to stay after Foxx’s tenure ended, the Tribune previously reported. Mbekeani had drawn criticism because of a business venture she launched as a law student, which some believed to be a conflict of interest with her position at the state’s attorney’s office.
