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Eric Zorn on the Illinois Death Penalty

By Steve Hall

The Chicago Tribune columnist has a lengthy post at his Trib blog, "Old case sheds new light on the death penalty debate." A man posing as a neighbor needing to borrow a plunger raped a 29-year-old woman in her living room at the Maple Tree Apartments complex in west suburban Woodridge.Police quickly arrested and charged Marcus Lyons, also 29, and a resident of the complex. The victim identified Lyons in a police lineup and testified at trial that she had no doubt he was her assailant.Lyons, a U.S. Navy reservist with no criminal record, was convicted and spent three years in prison. But after his release he continued to fight to clear his name. Ultimately, a new round of DNA testing not only excluded him as the source of genetic material found on the victim's undergarments, but implicated an employee at a nearby gas station whose girlfriend lived at the apartment complex...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on December 10, 2010 (boomark / email).