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seven-year-old girl
Melissa Ackerman from Somonauk, Illinois (another girl had escaped at the time.) On November 11, 2009, after deliberating about 10 hours over two days, a DuPage County jury sentenced Brian Dugan to death for the rape and murder of Jeanine Nicarico 26 years earlier. Dugan's sentence was commuted to life in prison after Illinois passed a law in 2011 abolishing the death penalty.
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November 11, 2009, he was sentenced to death by vote of the jury. On
December 16, 2009 the judge set the execution date for February 25, 2010. After the death penalty was abolished in Illinois in 2011 by passage of a new law, Dugan's sentence was commuted to life in prison without possibility of parole (LWOP).
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In
November 1985, Brian Dugan, who was already in jail and being tried for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl and of a 27-year-old woman in separate events, confessed to the crimes against Nicarico through his attorney. Dugan plea-bargained his charges in the two murders for which he had
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It was not until
November 2005 that Dugan was indicted for the Nicarico abduction, rape, and murder. Initially he refused to plead in court, and the judge entered a "Not guilty" plea for him in 2006 when the trial opened. On July 22, 2009, Dugan pleaded guilty to rape and murder of Nicarico. On
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of both Cruz and
Hernandez had excluded each as matching that in semen evidence at the crime scene. Cruz was acquitted in November 1995. A state investigator was appointed to review the recanted testimony. In December 1995, the State's Attorney dismissed all charges against Hernandez and he was
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struck down the convictions of Cruz and
Hernandez because the two were not tried separately. Both were retried despite public pressure on the DuPage County State's Attorney's office to investigate the Dugan confession. Cruz was convicted in his second trial in February 1990. The second trial of
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was indicted on charges for the crimes against
Nicarico. He entered a plea of guilty in September 2009 to the murder of Nicarico after having previously confessed to the crime. He was already serving a life sentence on two other, unrelated rape and murder charges, one of a 27-year-old woman and
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was introduced; the second man, already serving time after being twice convicted, had his charges dismissed by the
Illinois State's Attorney. Because of the notoriety of the case and the possibility at one point that two innocent men would have been executed, it was an influence on
189:, Alejandro Hernandez and Stephen Buckley were indicted in March 1984. A joint trial was held; in February 1985, Cruz and Hernandez were convicted, but the jury deadlocked on Buckley. The next month, both Cruz and Hernandez were sentenced to death.
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In
December 1996 the state indicted seven DuPage County law enforcement officials: three prosecutors and four sheriff's deputies, on charges of "lying and fabricating evidence against Cruz"; formally they were charged with
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Meanwhile, Cruz had appealed. In
December 1992, his second conviction was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court, but in May 1993 the court agreed to rehear the case. On July 14, 1994, Cruz was granted a third trial.
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On February 25, 1983, before the family returned home that day, Nicarico was abducted from the house after an intruder entered and burgled it. She is believed to have been raped and murdered the same day.
262:. Based in part on the notoriety of this case and Cruz's acquittal, in 2003 Ryan imposed a moratorium on executions in the state, and commuted the sentences to life of 167 persons on death row.
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of the Nicarico case, saying they had illegally conspired against Cruz in an effort to convict him. The three prosecutors and four sheriff's deputies were ultimately acquitted in 1999.
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During Cruz's third trial, a sheriff's lieutenant reversed his testimony, and introduced new information, including that new testing of the
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After appeals, one man was acquitted in 1995 at his third trial at which a witness recanted previous testimony and new
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in May 1990. He was convicted at his third trial, and was sentenced to 80 years in prison on May 17, 1991.
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against DuPage County. They were awarded a $ 3.5 million civil settlement on September 26, 2000.
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near Eola Road. She was determined to have been raped and sodomized before she was killed.
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was a complex and influential homicide investigation and prosecution in which two men,
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overturned the second conviction of Hernandez on January 30, 1995.
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In 1987, the charges against Buckley were dismissed by a judge.
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317:"Man Pleads Guilty in 1983 Rape, Murder of Jeanine Nicarico"
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The state indicted seven law enforcement officials for
247:Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley filed a civil suit for
395:"Not Guilty Plea Entered In Jeanine Nicarico Case"
161:, to Tom and Pat Nicarico. She had two sisters.
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426:. Chicagobreakingnews.com. December 16, 2009
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168:Her body was found two days later along the
103:and Alejandro Hernandez, both Latinos, were
176:Prosecution of Cruz, Hernandez, and Buckley
157:Jeanine Nicarico was born July 7, 1972, in
424:"Judge officially OKs Dugan death verdict"
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107:of abduction, rape and murder in 1985 in
27:1983 child murder in Naperville, Illinois
361:"Chronology Of Events In Nicarico Case"
240:to convict Cruz despite being aware of
193:been apprehended to life imprisonment.
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486:Incidents of violence against girls
367:. November 30, 2005. Archived from
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401:. January 18, 2006. Archived from
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496:Child murder in the United States
461:1983 murders in the United States
286:Child murder in the United States
491:Missing person cases in Illinois
130:'s decision in 2000 to impose a
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323:article; retrieved 11/09/2012.
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1:
291:
276:List of homicides in Illinois
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97:Jeanine Nicarico murder case
18:Jeanine Nicarico murder case
7:
506:People murdered in Illinois
501:Kidnapped American children
281:Kidnapped American children
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10:
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516:Rapes in the United States
451:1980s missing person cases
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153:Abduction, rape and murder
134:moratorium in the state.
72:Naperville, Illinois, U.S.
521:Victims of serial killers
199:On January 19, 1988, the
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217:Illinois Appellate Court
481:DuPage County, Illinois
476:Formerly missing people
144:In 2005, serial killer
201:Illinois Supreme Court
471:Female murder victims
204:Hernandez ended in a
170:Illinois Prairie Path
526:Wrongful convictions
249:wrongful prosecution
242:exculpatory evidence
227:released from jail.
159:Naperville, Illinois
139:wrongful prosecution
105:wrongfully convicted
54:Naperville, Illinois
78:Cause of death
511:Murder in Illinois
466:Crimes in Illinois
254:In 2002, Governor
371:on April 29, 2010
182:Rolando Cruz case
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65:February 25, 1983
16:(Redirected from
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456:1983 in Illinois
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399:Associated Press
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34:Jeanine Nicarico
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180:Main article:
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128:George H. Ryan
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86:Known for
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69:(aged 10)
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405:on 2007-09-30
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132:death penalty
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109:DuPage County
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89:Murder victim
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428:. Retrieved
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407:. Retrieved
403:the original
373:. Retrieved
369:the original
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187:Rolando Cruz
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120:DNA evidence
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101:Rolando Cruz
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67:(1983-02-25)
50:July 7, 1972
256:George Ryan
146:Brian Dugan
445:Categories
430:August 20,
409:2007-07-23
375:2007-07-23
292:References
238:conspiracy
46:1972-07-07
231:Aftermath
206:hung jury
270:See also
125:Governor
113:Illinois
81:Homicide
365:WBBM-TV
260:pardon
56:, U.S.
432:2011
321:KTLA
215:The
95:The
62:Died
40:Born
224:DNA
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328:^
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