IL Now free, man cleared in '94 rape talks of life in prison
- From: indigoace@xxxxxxx (Indigo Ace)
- Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 20:13:04 GMT
From the Chicago Tribune--
Now free, man cleared in '94 rape talks of life in prison
By Angela Rozas | Tribune reporter
10:56 PM CDT, May 28, 2008
When he was sent to prison 14 years ago for a rape he did not commit,
Dean Cage was a young man with three children, a steady job, a fiance
and no prior criminal record.
On Wednesday, less than 24 hours after being released from prison
after DNA tests cleared him in the 1994 rape of a 15-year-old girl,
Cage, now 41, spoke quietly of life in prison.
"It was hard. It was rough," said Cage, his voice low. "I ain't never
been locked up a day in my life 'til I come to Chicago. . . . It was
something real hard to deal with. Ain't no other words can explain
that."
His attorneys talked of the children Cage couldn't help to raise, his
father's failing health and his mother's steadfast defense of her son.
"They stole my son's life," his mother, Jerley, 63, said through tears
at a news conference. "They stole mine's too. I forgive the people who
did it to my son. And I pray for 'em."
Cage was identified in a lineup by the rape victim after composite
sketches circulated through the neighborhood led to a tip that pointed
to Cage. The girl also identified Cage's voice.
His attorneys with the New York-based Innocence Project and
Northwestern University School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions
contend that the detective assigned to the case influenced the
identification.
He wouldn't have been identified if police used blind lineups, in
which the officer conducting the lineup doesn't know the identity of
the suspect, a reform the state and city of Chicago should adopt, said
Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the Innocence Project, which took Cage's
case in 2004.
Karen Daniel, staff attorney at the Center on Wrongful Convictions,
urged Gov. Rod Blagojevich to pardon Cage quickly so he can obtain
financial compensation to help start his life over.
Neufeld also urged Blagojevich's office to fund and appoint people to
a state commission to study wrongful non-capital convictions such as
Cage's. The commission was created by the state legislature last year,
but nothing has been implemented, Neufeld contended. The governor's
office did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment.
arozas @tribune.com
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cagemay29,0,1469301.story
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