Dec. 01--Eddie L. Bolden has served nearly 22 years in prison for the 1994 shooting of two men during a drug deal. For years, Bolden has petitioned courts for a new trial, arguing his trial attorney failed to present a vigorous defense that would have shown he had an alibi and was not at the scene of the crime that night.
Bolden was back in the courtroom Monday for the conclusion of his postconviction hearing in Cook County Criminal Court, where his new attorney outlined what he termed a "paper thin" case against him and asked the judge to grant his client a new trial.
"An innocent man, this man, Eddie, was jailed for a crime he did not commit," Bolden's attorney, Ronald Safer, said.
The Monday hearing followed several weeks of testimony, including that of three people who claimed Bolden was inside a nearby fish restaurant with them at the time of the shooting. Those witnesses were not called to the stand during Bolden's initial 1996 trial.
"That testimony should have been presented to a jury and that would have made a difference," Safer said. "There's no reason for them to make up that Eddie was there with them."
Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Alfredo Maldonado said he would rule on the case Jan. 21.
Bolden was convicted primarily on the testimony of one of the surviving victims of the shooting near 64th Street and Minerva Avenue. Derrick Frazier, 24, and Irving Clayton, 23, were killed in the shooting.
Frazier's brother, Clifford, survived gunshot wounds to the back and a pistol-whipping, then testified that it was Bolden who killed the other two men and attacked him.
The jury convicted Bolden of two counts of murder and a count of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
In June 2014, an Illinois Appellate Court ruled Bolden "has made a substantial showing of ineffective assistance of trial counsel" and ordered a postconviction hearing.
Safer said the three additional witnesses had no reason to lie about Bolden's presence in the JJ Fish Chicken near 64th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue at the time the shooting took place.
Cook County assistant state's attorney Linda Walls, in her closing argument, said the postconviction hearing was not a referendum on Bolden's guilt or innocence but rather if he received ineffective counsel. She also questioned whether the new testimony provided a fresh perspective on whether or not Bolden's attorney did everything he could to gain an acquittal.
"This defendant had a jury trial of his peers. This defendant was found guilty by a jury of his peers," Walls said. "He's a convicted murderer. That does not change. The question is whether his rights were substantially violated by the ineffective assistance of counsel."
Walls said Bolden's defense attorney presented two witnesses and made a series of strategic decisions in the best interest of his client. She also said the three additional witnesses had significant discrepancies and inconsistencies in their recollections of the night in question.
Safer said the judge should recognize that Bolden did not receive justice.
"Our system is the best in the world, and one of the best parts of it is it recognizes that it is imperfect," Safer said.
Bolden was a reputed member of the Gangster Disciples street gang at the time of the shooting. Derrick Frazier was found inside a burning car with two gunshot wounds to the back of the head. Clayton was shot three times in the side of the head. At the initial trial, prosecutors argued Bolden met the men to buy cocaine. Two guns found near the scene of the shooting were destroyed by police before the trial, according to court filings.
Clifford Frazier, according to attorneys, kept large amounts of cocaine and weapons at his home.
Tribune reporter Grace Wong contributed.
poconnell@tribpub.com
