Ronnie Carrasquillo Articles

Two middle-aged men shake hands. Ronnie Carrasquillo is sitting in a car while his friend Carlos Colon stands outside.

Ronnie Carrasquillo is adjusting to freedom after nearly half a century in Illinois prisons

Carrasquillo came home in October after an appellate court ruled his 200-to-600-year sentence was excessive, and his numerous applications for parole were unfairly denied. Now, Carrasquillo is enjoying his family, learning technology, and speaking out about his case.

by Grace Asiegbu December 19, 2023February 15, 2024

The Long Wait

Appellate court throws out ‘excessive sentence’ for Chicago man denied parole over 30 times

Ronnie Carrasquillo will be resentenced after 46 years in prison after an appellate court panel ruled he has not been given a ‘meaningful’ opportunity for parole by the state’s Prisoner Review Board. The ruling follows a 2017 Injustice Watch series, “The Long Wait,” which examined the board’s opaque process.

by Grace Asiegbu September 21, 2023January 30, 2024

Judicial Conduct

Judge: Cook County judicial corruption did not affect 1977 murder trial

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.

by Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang January 24, 2018December 5, 2023

The Long Wait

Attorneys: Cook County judge’s corruption polluted his handling of murder case

In 1977, a judge convicted an 18-year old of murder and sentenced him to 200-to-600 years in prison. Forty years later, the prisoners’ attorneys contend the trial and sentencing were an improper effort by a corrupt judge to dilute public criticism.

by Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang November 29, 2017December 5, 2023

The Long Wait

With little hope left of parole, inmates look to the courts for release

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.

by Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang October 2, 2017January 30, 2024

The Long Wait

Aging prisoners left to arbitrary process to win release

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.

by Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang October 2, 2017February 1, 2024

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