A Cook County Circuit Court judge Wednesday denied to grant a new trial to a man who contends his conviction on charges he murdered a plainclothes Chicago police officer in 1976 was wrongly decided by a judge who sought to divert attention from his own corruption.
Illinois Prisoner Review Board member John Clough was removed from the board amidst allegations he used a racial slur as a sheriff’s deputy and committed state ethics violations.
Newly released public documents regarding board member John W. Clough appear to show that he submitted inaccurate financial disclosure forms to the state, conducted electioneering with a state-issued vehicle, and was overheard using a derogatory racial slur as a deputy.
Larry Kurina was once paroled for the double murder he committed in 1976, while a minor. But since his parole was violated in 1976 following an arrest for possessing stolen tools, the Illinois Prison Review Board has denied Kurina a second chance. Thursday the outcome was no different.
A state board uses an arbitrary and opaque process to decide whether prisoners convicted of committing violent crimes decades ago should be released, an Injustice Watch review has found. The process is wracked by subjectivity, and that problem is not confined to Illinois.
In 1993, Larry Kurina was paroled by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board after serving roughly 17 years for murder. After pleading guilty to a low-level felony in 2005, he has been back in custody since.
After all but giving up hope of release by the agency tasked with considering their parole, two inmates are searching for other ways out of prison.