After 29 years behind bars, Demond Weston was set to be released from prison Thursday after his convictions in a string of shootings, including a murder, were thrown out for lack of evidence.
Weston had maintained that he was tortured into confessing to the 1990 murder of Joseph Watson and his involvement in three other shootings in West Englewood the same evening. But Special Cook County Prosector Robert Milan did not credit those allegations in court Wednesday as he asked to vacate Weston’s convictions for murder and attempted murder. In throwing out the charges against Weston, Judge Angela Petrone likewise affirmed that she did not believe there was proof of any misconduct by detectives or prosecutors involved in the case.
But, Milan said, after an extensive re-investigation of the case including interviews with dozens of witnesses, he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to prove Weston’s guilt. Weston has agreed not to seek a “certificate of innocence,” which would allow him to collect a payout from the state of up to $200,000.
Wednesday’s decision brought incredulous whispers from the dozen supporters in the courtroom gallery, who had been cautioned against making outbursts by a stern Petrone. Seated beside lawyers that had handled his case for nearly a decade, Weston slumped forward and rested his forehead on a stack of legal briefs.
In the lockup after the hearing, Weston was so overjoyed, he struggled to breathe, said his attorney Scott Schutte.
Weston is expected be released from the state prison in Dixon Thursday morning.
Schutte said Weston maintains he was beaten by detectives during a 12-hour interrogation, and said the confession did not line up with other evidence in the case. Weston will still be able to pursue a civil lawsuit over his imprisonment and torture allegations, even without a certificate of innocence.
“We disagree with the conclusion on the torture... but for today, the key thing is that he’ll be free tomorrow and he’ll be home, celebrating Christmas with his family,” Schutte said.
