The exonerations keep adding up. While it’s unfortunate that many of these Black men were sent to prison in the first place, it’s good to see that the justice system has a way to correct its wrongs.
The latest Black man to walk free after a wrongful conviction is 54-year-old Patrick Taylor in Rolling Meadows, Ill. Originally sent to prison 16 years ago after he was convicted of a 2006 murder, Taylor walked free on Wednesday after his attorneys proved he had nothing to do with the crime.
More from ABC7 Chicago:
It was a brutal crime. Two armed men invaded a Rolling Meadows apartment in 2006, beat several people inside and fatally shot 30-year-old Marquis Lovings when he failed to quickly open a bedroom safe.
Lovings was a popular suburban rap musician known as Keyz.
While Taylor’s attorneys at the time argued that there was no physical evidence connecting their client to the murder, he was arrested and charged. While prosecuting attorneys initially called for the death penalty, he was later sentenced to life in prison, according to ABC7 Chicago.
Despite the conviction, Taylor’s attorneys continued to fight, claiming that there was a “faulty witness identification” that led to his conviction and that police in Rolling Meadows had physical evidence that connected to other suspects.
With the help of The Exoneration Project, Taylor and his attorneys were able to get the attention of Kim Foxx, the State’s Attorney for Cook County, and get his conviction overturned.
In a statement, Foxx said, “Upon reviewing these previously unaccounted for documents and considering the deterioration of evidence, we determined that we would be unable to meet our burden of proof if the case were retried. Meantime, Taylor’s attorneys said they have gathered evidence pointing to other suspects that they believe police and prosecutors should have pursued years ago.”