July 16--A Kankakee woman who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for a high-profile kidnapping and murder that she insists she did not commit is expected to appear in court Friday in hopes of getting a new trial.
Nancy Rish's lawyers plan to argue that evidence acquired last year -- including affidavits declaring her innocence from her ex-boyfriend, Danny Edwards, who was convicted as the mastermind behind the killing -- should be grounds for a new trial in the 1987 case.
"This woman has spent over 10,000 days in prison for a crime she didn't commit," said Margaret Byrne, one of Rish's attorneys. "Every day is a crime in itself."
Rish, 53, is serving a life sentence without parole at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln.
But prosecutors want Iroquois County Circuit Judge Gordon Lustfeldt to dismiss the post-conviction petition, contending that Edwards' recent statements "contain few specific facts" and come at a time when he faces no conceivable consequence for lying because he is no longer trying to appeal his case. Edwards is serving a life sentence at Pontiac Correctional Center.
Because Edwards' statements are coming decades after the trial, "and because Edwards' affidavits do not provide conclusive proof of ... innocence, this Court should dismiss" the petition, Assistant Attorney General Erin O'Connell wrote in a motion filed for the hearing.
Rish was convicted of murder and aggravated kidnapping for her role in the 1987 abduction and death of Stephen Small, heir to a Kankakee family's media fortune.
The grisly kidnapping and murder went on to become the subject of a true crime novel, dozens of news articles and a Tribune investigation in the 1990s that explored whether Rish was guilty.
Edwards, a small-time drug dealer, was convicted of luring Small, a married father of three young boys, from his home and burying him alive inside a plywood box as part of a bizarre plot to force ransom money from one of Kankakee's wealthiest and most well-connected families.
Edwards had tossed a few candy bars into the box and used a narrow pipe for air vents as he made calls to Small's family from pay phones demanding $1 million. But the air vents proved inadequate and Small suffocated to death shortly after the box was buried.
Edwards was convicted and sentenced to death for murder and kidnapping but was moved off death row in 2003 when then-Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of all Illinois death row inmates to life in prison.
Though Rish was not tied directly to the kidnapping or burial, she was convicted on evidence that she helped Edwards get materials for the box and drove him to the kidnapping and burial sites.
Friday's hearing marks Rish's latest attempt to argue her innocence after multiple unsuccessful tries over the last three decades. Lawyers on her behalf have filed previous appeals on the conviction and asked for a new trial, citing what they call questionable tactics and evidence used by the prosecution.
Last year, her attorneys presented a petition to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to ask its members to recommend clemency. That petition was denied in January, Byrne said.
After hearing from both sides at the 1:30 p.m. hearing Friday, the judge will decide whether to allow Edwards to present testimony that could ultimately lead to a new trial, lawyers said. Edwards is not expected to be appear in court Friday.
Ramsey Small, one of Stephen Small's now-grown sons speaking on behalf of his family, declined to comment on the court proceedings.
Since the initial trial, Rish has maintained that she never knew what Edwards was doing as he plotted the scheme, even as she drove him home from near the wooded burial site and to pay phones he used for ransom calls.
Edwards also has maintained that Rish knew nothing of the crime, but for years his case was tied up in appeals as he tried to stave off a death sentence. In the last decade though, Edwards said he found God, dropped his legal appeals and battled severe heart problems, according to his signed affidavits.
For those reasons, he agreed to sign the affidavits when approached by Rish's attorneys, Byrne said.
Several of Rish's family members and friends are expected in the courtroom Friday to show their unwavering belief in her innocence, Byrne said. All are hoping the judge will allow Edwards' new statements to lead to a new trial, Byrne said.
"A judge needs to hear from Edwards, hear what he has to say, look at him and decide whether he's telling the truth or not," Byrne said.
vortiz@tribpub.com
