Published April 13, 2017
A 77-year-old Washington state man hopes an Illinois judge will help eliminate a stain on his reputation by formally declaring he's innocent of a 7-year-old girl's kidnapping and killing in 1957.
A DeKalb County judge is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to grant Jack McCullough a certificate of innocence. Getting one would also enable McCullough to sue Illinois for damages for wrongly convicting him in 2012 of Maria Ridulph's killing.
A then-prosecutor concluded last year that evidence backed McCullough's alibi he'd been 40 miles away when Maria disappeared. A judge agreed, ordering McCullough's release after serving four years of a life sentence.
McCullough said at a hearing last week his reputation isn't restored. He says he's "been put forward as a monster" and that people still think he's one.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-to-rule-on-request-to-certify-innocence-in-57-killing