John Seasly, Author at Injustice Watch

John George Spirko, Jr.: Serving life sentence after strong doubts emerged over guilt

John George Spirko, Jr. was a criminal with a system he believed would help cut his time in prison: He made up information for authorities, pretending to have knowledge that would help solve crimes.

by John Seasly November 11, 2019December 5, 2023

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Celebrities, Texas lawmakers, millions of petitioners seek halt to Reed’s execution

Texas lawmakers, the European Union, celebrities and more than two million petitioners have asked Gov. Greg Abbott to halt the November 20 execution of inmate Rodney Reed, amid growing evidence of his innocence.

by John Seasly November 7, 2019December 5, 2023

Associate Judges

Diverse group begins lobbying circuit judges for seats on Cook County bench

After sharp criticism a year ago that the associate judge contests resulted in only one new black candidate winning a seat, Cook County court officials made a point to emphasize the diversity of finalists for the 15 seats to be filled by a vote of the county’s circuit judges.

by John Seasly November 6, 2019December 5, 2023

Associate Judges

Several past hopefuls among new candidates for Cook County associate judgeships

Cook County’s chief judge announced the 30 finalists for vacant associate judge posts. The list includes several familiar names of candidates who have sought judgeships in the past.

by John Seasly November 5, 2019December 5, 2023

Archive

David Chandler: Evidence of innocence moves him off death row, but not out of prison

Nobody doubts that Charles Ray Jarrell Sr. shot and killed Marlin Shuler, a marijuana dealer, in 1990, after the two had been drinking beer together by a northern Alabama lake.

by Rob Warden and John Seasly November 4, 2019December 5, 2023

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Walter Ogrod: Mentally-disabled man gives confession to detectives with tainted record

Four years after the naked and battered body of Barbara Jean Horn was found in a trash bag in Philadelphia, the police had made no arrests despite having a series of suspects.

by Rob Warden and John Seasly November 4, 2019December 5, 2023

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Tyrone Noling: Despite recantations, remains on death row

The bodies of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, were found on the kitchen floor of their rural Ohio home in 1990, along with ten .25-caliber shell casings. Police found open jewelry boxes in the bedroom that had been rifled through.

by John Seasly November 4, 2019December 5, 2023

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Judges order Oklahoma inmate, once sentenced to die, released from prison after 34 years

Two appellate judges ordered Monday that Oklahoma inmate Karl Allen Fontenot, originally sentenced to die after he was convicted of a 1984 murder, be released on bond next month as significant evidence has emerged that cast doubt on his and a codefendant’s guilt.

by John Seasly November 4, 2019December 5, 2023

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Suburban judicial candidate accused of leaving headless duck on woman’s porch

Fake blood, a headless duck and false accusations are at the heart of a no-contact order given to a circuit court candidate in a northwest Chicago suburb last week.

by John Seasly November 1, 2019December 5, 2023

Archive

Rodney Reed witness: Fiancé killed victim because she was sleeping with black man

In a flurry of new papers seeking to avert Rodney Reed’s execution next month, his attorneys have submitted a new affidavit from a prisoner who says Stacey Stites’s fiance admitted in prison that he had killed Stites because she was having an affair with Reed.

by John Seasly October 31, 2019December 5, 2023

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