And Rob Warden, executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, which provided McKinney with a lawyer, told me, “The whole thing here is that poor Anthony McKinney is innocent, for God’s sake, and in this whole hullabaloo that’s the story. Look here, what is the state’s attorney saying? They’re saying a couple of Protess’s kids offered somebody $40 to basically implicate himself in a capital murder. That is totally absurd. We have documented cases in which prosecutors have paid witnesses tens of thousands of dollars to implicate people the prosecution thought were guilty. For them to suggest this is absurd. They ought to be ashamed. Anita Alvarez ought to be ashamed of herself.”
Warden announced McKinney’s death Wednesday in an e-mailed statement that observed a hearing on McKinney’s innocence claim had still not taken place. Warden offered a statement from Karen Daniel, the CWC attorney representing McKinney. “The criminal justice system failed Anthony,” said Daniel. “First he was convicted as a teenager for a crime of which he was innocent, then delays in the post-conviction process prevented him from presenting evidence in court that might have exonerated him. Although Anthony battled mental illness after his arrest and throughout his imprisonment, he was unwavering in his assertion of innocence and always looked forward to being present in court for a hearing on his innocence claim.”
UPDATE: David Protess sent me this comment on Mckinney’s death: “Few tragedies are worse than the imprisonment of an innocent man, but one is that man’s death. With the passing of Anthony McKinney, it is as if prosecutors finally got the death penalty they sought 35 years ago. I feel great sadness for his family, his advocates, my former students and everyone who believed in justice for this gentle man. His death reminds us that compelling evidence of innocence does not ensure freedom without a commitment to justice by those in authority.”
There’s been no response yet to a request for comment from Anita Alvarez.
Article Appeared @http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/08/28/anthony-mckinney-dies-in-prison#more