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Transcript

Ford Heights Four

By Morgan Louie

Who Was Involved

Overview

  • Victims: Lawrence Lionberg and Carol Schmal
  • Ford Heights Four: Dennis Williams, Kenneth Adams, Willie Rainge, and Verneal Jimmerson
  • Witnesses:Charles McCraney, Paula Gray, David Jackson, Marvin Simpson
  • Ethically Problematic People: Michael Podlecki, Law Enforement, Assistant State’s Attorneys Clifford Johnson and J. Scott Arthur

From left to right: Kenny Adams, Denis Williams, and Willie Range.

What Happend?

What

  • Sexual Asault of Carol Schmall
  • Murder of both Ms. Schmall and Mr. Lionberg
  • False witness statements and unreliable evidence
  • Ford Heights Four is convicted
  • Ford Heights Four is released

Paula Gray

When Did This Occur?

When

  • Sexual Assault and Homicide: May 11, 1978
  • Trial: 1978
  • Other Notable Dates:
  • Daubert: 1993
  • Competency to Stand Trial: 1960
  • Civik Rights Movement: 1954-1968

Verneal Jimerson

Where Did This Happen?

  • Homewood, Illinois (White suburbs)
  • Ford Heights, Illinois (Poor neighborhood with predominatly African Americans)

Where

Why Did This Happen?

  • public outcry
  • not enough forensic knowledge
  • limited time and leads

Why?

Limited Forensic Knowledge

Devils Advocate

  • Blood type evidence no longer used
  • hair no longer used
  • expressed exclusion vs. identification
  • public pressure to conform
  • tricky cross examination

Pressure

Law Enforcement

  • Public
  • Piecing it together themselves
  • making a story fit
  • agency has high expectations
  • recieiving false information

Time Period is Not Fit For an Unbiased Trial

Judicial System

  • Assistant State’s Attorneys Clifford Johnson and J. Scott Arthur
  • the state pressured attorneys to find more eviden
  • Racial war
  • geared toward beliefs

In Terms of Forensics

Questions

  • If the jury had been debreifed on what eclusion vs. identification meant, do you think the verdict would be changed despite racial bias?
  • Do you think the court should've admitted the evidence given the limited knowledge they had?

In terms of Law Enforcement

Law Enforcement

• Had this crime happened in just Ford Heights, rather than the couple being abducted from Homewood and then taken to Ford Heights, how would this change police response to the case and public outcry?

  • How would this affect police response?

In Terms of Jury and Trial

In terms of the Judicial System

  • we talked about judicial ethical obligation vs forensic ethical obligation...
  • What would’ve been a solution in accounting for the bias of the jury on the basis of race at this particular time period?

Connection to Class

Ethics

  • public outcry
  • expert testimony
  • quality assurance
  • problem with the officer or problem with the agency?
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