Murder of Jeanine Nicarico

Common card · No. 488463

The Jeanine Nicarico murder case was a complex and influential homicide investigation and prosecution in which two men, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez, were wrongfully convicted of abduction, rape and murder in 1985 in DuPage County, Illinois. They were both sentenced to death. The case was scrutinized during appeals for being weak in evidence. After appeals, one man was acquitted in 1995 at his third trial at which a witness recanted previous testimony and new DNA evidence was introduced; the second man, already serving time after being twice convicted, had his charges dismissed by the Illinois State's Attorney. The notoriety of the case and the serious possibility that two innocent men could have been executed was an influence on Governor George H. Ryan's decision in 2000 to impose a death penalty moratorium in the state. The state indicted seven law enforcement officials for wrongful prosecution of the Nicarico case, saying they had illegally conspired against Cruz in an effort...

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