To the editors.
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Bill Heirens, threatened with the electric chair, confessed under a plea bargain and for 44 years he has professed his innocence and litigated his case in the hope of obtaining the trial he never had. Recently, he has been back in court on a post conviction petition, William Heirens vs. The People of the State of Illinois. His central charge remains “ineffective assistance of counsel.”
As Bill Heirens’s friend and founder of the Parole for Heirens Committee, I was present in the courtroom of Judge Michael P. Toomin during the current litigation of Bill’s petition. Ironically, it is the same courtroom where he was sentenced 44 years ago. And so, of course, I heard Judge Toomin’s ruling on Monday when he dismissed the case.
As Bill said to Walter Jacobson several years ago: “In 1946, I had to be guilty to live.”
Subsequently, any fingerprint evidence remaining at the detection bureau of the Chicago Police Department was subpoenaed. This was the only real evidence against Bill and, in light of recent discoveries, Bill’s attorney felt it should be reexamined. The State’s Attorney moved to quash the subpoena and Judge Toomin allowed him to do so.
Is this justice? Or could it more rightfully be labelled “politics.”
