Rolando Cruz case
Encyclopedia
In February 1985, a Hispanic
man from Aurora, Illinois
named Rolando Cruz and a co-defendant were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for the 1983 kidnapping, rape, deviant sexual assault and murder of 10-year old Jeanine Nicarico
in DuPage County Circuit Court
despite the fact that the police had no physical evidence linking them to the crime. Cruz was pardoned after more than 10 years in custody.
. Suffering from the flu, Jeanine was at home alone while her parents were at work and her sisters were at school. Her body was found 2 days later, six miles from her home. She had been raped and beaten to death.
Rolando Cruz, a 20 year-old gang member from Aurora
, was not initially a person of interest
for the crime until he attempted to claim the $10,000 reward for information on the murder with a fabricated story. There was enormous public and political pressure on the state attorney's office to solve the highly publicized case and the police and prosecutors became convinced of Cruz's guilt. One of the investigating detectives however was convinced of Cruz's innocence and resigned so he could testify for the defense. Later an Assistant Attorney General, Mary Brigid Kenney, also resigned claiming "I was being asked to help execute an innocent man". In 1987 Cruz, along with Alejandro Hernandez and Stephen Buckley, were charged with Jeanine's rape and murder despite a lack of evidence. Cruz and Hernandez were convicted in a joint trial and sentenced to death. The jury deadlocked on Buckley and he was not retried.
In November 1985, another man, Brian Dugan
, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole for two unrelated similar homicides (one a seven year old girl) committed in nearby Kane
and LaSalle Counties. At the time of his arrest he had also confessed to the Jeanine Nicarico murder but this information was withheld by prosecutors from Cruz's two retrials.
Roland Burris
identifying numerous errors in the investigation and trial in Cruz's initial conviction including "perjured testimony" and "fraudulent investigations by local officials". Burris disputed Kenney's contentions, claiming he could not hold his judgement higher than the jury and that it was his job to uphold a jury's decision and Kenney resigned in protest.
In 1994 the verdict was overturned again. During the third trial, a sheriff's lieutenant who had provided key evidence at the original trial reversed his testimony and admitted he had lied under oath, DNA tests also eliminated Cruz and his co-defendant, Alejandro Hernandez as the contributors of the semen found at the crime scene and implicated Brian Dugan who had confessed to the crime in 1985. On November 3, 1995, a DuPage County judge acquitted Cruz on the basis of recanted testimony, the DNA evidence, and the lack of any substantiated evidence against Cruz. In December 1995, the charges against Hernandez were dismissed by the State's Attorney
in December 1996 on 47 charges of conspiracy
to convict Cruz despite being aware of exculpatory evidence
. In April 1999, the trial of the "DuPage Seven." began, and ultimately all seven officers were found not guilty by Judge William Kelly. However, a civil suit brought by Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley was settled by DuPage County for $3.5 million in autumn of 2000.
Cruz was fully pardoned by Governor George Ryan
in 2002. A third man, Steven Buckley, who was also initially suspected of the crime, due to his alleged bootprint being found on the Nicario's front porch, was also cleared of any wrongdoing.
In November 2005, Dugan was indicted for the Nicarico murder. On July 28, 2009, 52-year-old Dugan pled guilty with his 1985 confession being made public for the first time on October 14. On October 7, 2009, the jury determined Dugan was eligible for the death penalty which under state law requires that he qualifies for at least one of four conditions: that the victim was younger than 12, the crime was exceptionally brutal and heinous, a previous conviction for at least one other murder or that the crime was committed during the course of another felony. The sentencing phase is expected to last up to six weeks.
The public outcry from the Cruz case resulted in Governor George Ryan
declaring a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, asserting that the system was "fraught with error."
On March 11, 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois into law.
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
man from Aurora, Illinois
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
named Rolando Cruz and a co-defendant were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for the 1983 kidnapping, rape, deviant sexual assault and murder of 10-year old Jeanine Nicarico
Jeanine Nicarico murder case
The Jeanine Nicarico murder case was a complex and influential homicide investigation and prosecution in DuPage County, Illinois that sent two men to prison who were later exonerated and released, and contributed to the death penalty moratorium imposed by then-Governor George H...
in DuPage County Circuit Court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
despite the fact that the police had no physical evidence linking them to the crime. Cruz was pardoned after more than 10 years in custody.
Events
On February 25, 1983, 10 year-old Jeanine Nicarico (born July 7, 1972) was abducted in broad daylight from her home in Naperville, IllinoisNaperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
. Suffering from the flu, Jeanine was at home alone while her parents were at work and her sisters were at school. Her body was found 2 days later, six miles from her home. She had been raped and beaten to death.
Rolando Cruz, a 20 year-old gang member from Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, was not initially a person of interest
Person of interest
"Person of interest" is a phrase used by law enforcement when announcing the name of someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. The phrase was adopted by the media and widely disseminated, thus most law enforcement agencies have picked up...
for the crime until he attempted to claim the $10,000 reward for information on the murder with a fabricated story. There was enormous public and political pressure on the state attorney's office to solve the highly publicized case and the police and prosecutors became convinced of Cruz's guilt. One of the investigating detectives however was convinced of Cruz's innocence and resigned so he could testify for the defense. Later an Assistant Attorney General, Mary Brigid Kenney, also resigned claiming "I was being asked to help execute an innocent man". In 1987 Cruz, along with Alejandro Hernandez and Stephen Buckley, were charged with Jeanine's rape and murder despite a lack of evidence. Cruz and Hernandez were convicted in a joint trial and sentenced to death. The jury deadlocked on Buckley and he was not retried.
In November 1985, another man, Brian Dugan
Brian Dugan
Brian James Dugan is an American rapist and serial killer active between 1983 and 1985 in Chicago's western suburbs. He was on death row for the 1983 murder of 10 year-old Jeanine Nicarico until Illinois governor Patrick Quinn abolished capital punishment in 2011 and his sentence was commuted to...
, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole for two unrelated similar homicides (one a seven year old girl) committed in nearby Kane
Kane County, Illinois
Kane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 515,269, which is an increase of 27.5% from 404,119 in 2000. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora.- Geography :...
and LaSalle Counties. At the time of his arrest he had also confessed to the Jeanine Nicarico murder but this information was withheld by prosecutors from Cruz's two retrials.
First Appeal
The convictions were overturned on January 19, 1989 due to a prosecutorial error and Cruz and Hernandez were retried separately. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld Cruz' conviction and death sentence in February, 1990. Justice Heiple, writing for the majority, found errors in the trial but dismissed them as harmless in light of the "overwhelming" physical evidence. This decision sparked an understandable public outcry, since even prosecutors had to admit that no physical evidence existed linking Cruz to the crime, much less "overwhelming" physical evidence. Hernandez' second trial ended in a hung jury, but a third trial ended in his conviction. On May 17, 1991, Hernandez was sentenced to 80 years in prison.Further appeals and exoneration
Cruz appealed again in December, 1992 and his second conviction was again upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. Assistant Attorney General Mary Brigid Kenney, who was assigned to fight Cruz's appeal, sent a memo to Illinois Attorney GeneralIllinois Attorney General
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
Roland Burris
Roland Burris
Roland Wallace Burris is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party....
identifying numerous errors in the investigation and trial in Cruz's initial conviction including "perjured testimony" and "fraudulent investigations by local officials". Burris disputed Kenney's contentions, claiming he could not hold his judgement higher than the jury and that it was his job to uphold a jury's decision and Kenney resigned in protest.
In 1994 the verdict was overturned again. During the third trial, a sheriff's lieutenant who had provided key evidence at the original trial reversed his testimony and admitted he had lied under oath, DNA tests also eliminated Cruz and his co-defendant, Alejandro Hernandez as the contributors of the semen found at the crime scene and implicated Brian Dugan who had confessed to the crime in 1985. On November 3, 1995, a DuPage County judge acquitted Cruz on the basis of recanted testimony, the DNA evidence, and the lack of any substantiated evidence against Cruz. In December 1995, the charges against Hernandez were dismissed by the State's Attorney
Aftermath
Seven DuPage County law enforcement officials, three prosecutors and four deputies, were indicted by a grand juryGrand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in December 1996 on 47 charges of conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to convict Cruz despite being aware of exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to prove guilt....
. In April 1999, the trial of the "DuPage Seven." began, and ultimately all seven officers were found not guilty by Judge William Kelly. However, a civil suit brought by Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley was settled by DuPage County for $3.5 million in autumn of 2000.
Cruz was fully pardoned by Governor George Ryan
George Ryan
George Homer Ryan, Sr. was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ryan became nationally known when in 2000 he imposed a moratorium on executions and "raised the national debate on capital punishment"...
in 2002. A third man, Steven Buckley, who was also initially suspected of the crime, due to his alleged bootprint being found on the Nicario's front porch, was also cleared of any wrongdoing.
In November 2005, Dugan was indicted for the Nicarico murder. On July 28, 2009, 52-year-old Dugan pled guilty with his 1985 confession being made public for the first time on October 14. On October 7, 2009, the jury determined Dugan was eligible for the death penalty which under state law requires that he qualifies for at least one of four conditions: that the victim was younger than 12, the crime was exceptionally brutal and heinous, a previous conviction for at least one other murder or that the crime was committed during the course of another felony. The sentencing phase is expected to last up to six weeks.
The public outcry from the Cruz case resulted in Governor George Ryan
George Ryan
George Homer Ryan, Sr. was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ryan became nationally known when in 2000 he imposed a moratorium on executions and "raised the national debate on capital punishment"...
declaring a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, asserting that the system was "fraught with error."
On March 11, 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn (politician)
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Quinn III is the 41st and current Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously elected three times to statewide office, Quinn was the sitting lieutenant governor and became governor on January 29, 2009, when the previous governor, Rod Blagojevich,...
signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois into law.