Illinois Appellate First District broke with long-standing precedent when it denied Wayne Washington a certificate of innocence – an essential document to clear one’s name after a wrongful conviction in Illinois – because of an erroneous novel assertion that a guilty plea automatically vetoes a certificate. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting alongside Mr. Washington to ensure that Illinois courts upholds the intent and purpose of the certificate of innocence statute to remove barriers that prevent innocent people from clearing their names and getting relief.
In 1993, Wayne Washington, then 20, was arrested and charged with the murder of Marshall Morgan, Jr., seemingly because he happened to be in the same store as his equally innocent eventual codefendant Tyrone Hood when the police arrived to arrest Mr. Hood.
While detained, Mr. Washington was interrogated by Detectives John Halloran and Kenneth Boudreau, acolytes of disgraced former police commander Jon Burge, who has faced multiple allegations of misconduct for beating suspects and witnesses, as well as fabricating evidence to obtain false convictions.
After days of abuse at the hands of Detectives Halloran and Boudreau and promises he would go home if he confessed, Mr. Washington signed a false confession. Detective Halloran and Boudreau also obtained a false witness statement through similar abuse and threats to charge the so-called witness with murder. The witness later recanted their statements.
Mr. Washington initially fought his charges at a trial that resulted in a hung jury. But when he spoke with Mr. Hood, who had just received a 75-year sentence after maintaining his innocence at his trial, Mr. Washington decided to take a plea deal.
“I was looking at 75 years for a crime I didn’t commit,” Mr. Washington said. “They offered me 25 years – a second chance at life – and I took it.”
Mr. Washington spent 14 years in prison before he was released on parole. In 2015, the Cook County’s State’s Attorney vacated Mr. Washington’s convictions and dismissed all charges against him after acknowledging overwhelming evidence that Mr. Morgan, Jr. was murdered by his father, Marshall Morgan, Jr. for a life insurance policy.
But when Mr. Washington filed a petition to receive a certificate of innocence – a certificate Mr. Hood had received shortly after he was exonerated – the Illinois Appellate First District denied him his certificate, claiming Mr. Washington’s guilty plea barred him from the certificate. This flies in the face of the very intent and purpose of the certificate of innocence statute, which is to remove technical and substantive barriers that prevent innocent people from clearing their names and getting relief. Further, the ruling goes against precedent set by Illinois circuit courts, which have awarded certificates to innocent people who pled guilty in at least 77 cases.
“I just want to get my name cleared. They vacated my conviction but won’t recognize my innocence. After everything I’ve been through, it still hangs over my head. I’ve lost out on jobs because of the background check. Without a certificate of innocence, this will continue to hinder me personally and professionally.”
– Wayne Washington
The MacArthur Justice Center, alongside Greenberg Trial Lawyers, is representing Mr. Washington in his petition to the Illinois Supreme Court.
UPDATE
The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision, saying that not only does it “conflict with the legislative intent, it also conflicts with numerous decisions of lower courts that have issued certificates of innocence to petitioners who pleaded guilty.” The Supreme Court remanded the case to the circuit court with directions to enter an order granting petitioner a certificate of innocence.