In 1998, Anthony Murray was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 45 years in prison. After the Marion County Associate Judge ruled that Mr. Murray had received ineffective assistance of counsel, Murray’s case was reexamined. Students working with the Illinois Innocence Project reviewed Murray’s case and discovered that his attorney knowingly called a witness that would incriminate his client, leading the Marion County Associate Judge to vacate Murray’s conviction.
To gain full freedom, however, Murray was forced to accept a plea to second-degree murder and was released on time served. His Alford Plea, allowing him to gain freedom by pleading to a lesser crime while still maintaining that he was innocent of all charges, allowed Murray to return home to his mother and family, but it certainly left a stain on what the Illinois Innocence Project feels should have been a complete exoneration, clearing Murray of all charges.
