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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
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Sycamore, NIU grad ready for Tennessee Titans
Verdict in 1957 murder appealed
Big shoes to fill
McCullough cites friend’s testimony, unused FBI files By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Jack McCullough brought a box of FBI documents to his sentencing hearing for the killing of Maria Ridulph that he said prove his innocence, and in his appeal he contends they should have been admitted as evidence in his trial. The reports, compiled by FBI Jack McCullough investigators as they sought leads in finding the person who abducted and killed 7-year-old Maria in 1957, were not allowed in McCullough’s trial in 2012. Judge James Hallock agreed with prosecutors that they were based on hearsay and contained no observations from investigators. McCullough has long contended that they show he was in Rockford at the time. The disallowed documents are one of four main reasons McCullough and his defense lawyer Paul Glaser contend McCullough’s 2012 conviction and life sentence for the kidnapping, abduction and murder of Ridulph were unfair. In the appeal, filed in Illinois Second District Appellate Court in Elgin, Glaser said the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove a guilty verdict, that Hallock erred in refusing to allow defense evidence that would have proved an alibi, that some of prosecutors’ evidence shouldn’t have been admitted, and that the convictions for kidnapping and abduction charges violate the one-act, one-crime rule. Key testimony by Kathy Chapman, Ridulph’s childhood friend, identified McCullough, then known as John Tessier, as the man who was with Ridulph at the intersection of Center Cross Street and Archie Place in Sycamore when she was last seen. The man introduced himself as “Johnny” to the girls. “This happened 30 years plus after the incident,” Glaser said. “We simply can’t believe that
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Ron Carter, professor emeritus and director of the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble, holds hands with ensemble members as part of a tradition before the farewell concert for him on April 10 at the Duke Ellington Ballroom at the Holmes Student Center.
Ron Carter, retiring director of NIU Jazz Ensemble, ‘touched a lot of lives in an amazing way’ By STEPHEN HABERKORN news@daily-chronicle.com Ron Carter seems to have been destined for jazz greatness. Given the same name as legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter; his first teaching job was at the alma mater of another jazz legend, Miles Davis. Carter, the director of the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble, gave his farewell performance with the renowned ensemble April 10 in the same venue where Duke Ellington gave his last full performance with his orchestra almost exactly 40 years earlier – NIU’s Holmes Student Center. “Some people are just special. [They] have an X-factor, because they were chosen to do what it is they do,” said Quentin Coaxum, a former student of Carter’s at NIU
Voice your opinion What type of local music performance did you last attend? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
who is now a professional jazz trumpeter and teacher. “All the rest of us can do is just appreciate them while we have the opportunity.” As Carter prepares to retire from NIU, his colleagues and former students remember his work ethic, recruiting abilities, and sheer talent.
DISTINGUISHED EARLY CAREER Carter first got involved in music through singing in the church
Ron Carter directs the Northern Illinois Jazz Ensemble during his farewell concert April 10 at the Duke Ellington Ballroom at the Holmes Student Center.
See CARTER, page A6
“One thing about the Afro-American experience and Afro-American music: It’s always come through the church.” Ron Carter
See APPEAL, page A6
Professor emeritus and director of the Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble
Study: Minority kids may be hit hardest by Illinois law By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – A 32-yearold Illinois law that requires juveniles accused of the most serious crimes to be charged as adults may be discriminatory, prevents judges from exercising their judgment and makes it more likely that those who are convicted will commit violent crimes in the future, according to a study released Tuesday. The nonpartisan Juvenile Justice Initiative reviewed 257
Cook County cases from 2010 to 2012 involving juveniles who were automatically charged as adults in accordance with the state law. One of those cases involved a non-minority defendant. Eighty-three percent of the defendants were black and 16 percent were Hispanic. Most came from Chicago’s west and south sides, according to the study. It also found that 54 percent of the defendants whose cases were automatically transferred to adult court ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that
wouldn’t have triggered such a transfer in the first place. By leaving juvenile court, the authors concluded, the defendants lose their best chance at rehabilitation and often go to prison with adults; later, they have higher recidivism rates for violent crime. The group used the study to draw attention to legislation in the General Assembly that would eliminate the automatic transferring of the most serious juvenile cases to adult court and give judges more decision-making authority based
on a hearing that examines a child’s circumstances, among them a child’s age, education, mental and physical health and level of participation in the crime. Illinois is among 14 states that have automatic transfer laws. Enacted in 1982, Illinois requires juveniles ages 15 to 17 years old who are charged with crimes such as murder, armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery with a firearm to be tried as adults. Once charged as an adult, a
juvenile who is later charged with another crime must always appear in adult court, no matter the crime. Juvenile Justice Initiative President Elizabeth Clarke said such cases often unfold in the same way: A juvenile is questioned by police without a lawyer, makes a statement and is charged as an adult. He or she then pleads guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a set sentence, meaning there is no trial or sentencing hearing. “At no point do they really get a day in court,” Clarke
told the AP. “This is wholesale throwing kids away at the point of arrest, essentially.” Before the House Judiciary Committee backed the legislation last month, officials from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office testified against it. Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican and former prosecutor, opposes eliminating automatic transfers because of the seriousness of the crime. Juveniles can only be incarcerated until age 21, so a murder would not be properly punished, he said.
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