{"id":3037,"date":"2022-09-30T03:20:12","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T09:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/?p=3037"},"modified":"2023-01-21T22:29:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-22T05:29:51","slug":"2022-september-29-news-article-the-pantagraph-dozens-protest-mclean-county-convictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/?p=3037","title":{"rendered":"2022 September 29 News Article \u2013 The Pantagraph \u2013 Dozens protest McLean County convictions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Brendan Denison  |   September 29, 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tammy Alexander speaks on Thursday during a rally titled “Does Innocence Matter?” at the McLean County Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington.      image – CLAY JACKSON, THE PANTAGRAPH<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BLOOMINGTON \u2014 Around two dozen supporters gathered in front of the courthouse in downtown Bloomington on Thursday to protest what they maintain were wrongful convictions that led to the imprisonment of innocent men. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizer Tammy Alexander, of East Tennessee, said she\u2019s a co-host of a podcast called “Snow Files.” It covers the case of Jamie Snow, who was convicted 2001 of the murder of 18-year-old gas station attendant William Little, shot and killed in a 1991 robbery in Bloomington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bloomington man has maintained his innocence since his 1999 arrest, and is seeking exoneration. In February, Snow was authorized to review 7,704 pages of discovery documents<\/strong><\/a> from his trial, following a motion by his lawyers with the Illinois Exoneration Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tammy Alexander, left, holds the microphone as Donald J. Whalen Jr. speaks on Thursday during a rally titled “Does Innocence Matter?” at the McLean County Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington.                                                                   CLAY JACKSON, THE PANTAGRAPH<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She said that all speakers and others in attendance have been deeply impacted by the tragedy of wrongful convictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFamilies have been ripped apart, children raised without fathers, mothers struggling to support their families alone, and men suffering in prison for decades for crimes that they did not commit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates also continue to push for exoneration for Barton McNeil, who is serving a 100-year prison sentence at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center on murder charges for the June 15, 1998, death of his 3-year-old daughter, Christina. He has long maintained his innocence, and prosecutors conceded<\/strong><\/a> earlier this year to an evidentiary hearing on two affidavits claiming McNeil\u2019s ex-girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, confessed to the murder of McNeil\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with The Pantagraph, Alexander said she wrote to Snow long ago after reading an article about his case, stating she believe he didn\u2019t get a fair trial. She said Snow wrote back, saying: \u201cI\u2019m innocent, and if you let me I\u2019ll prove it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sisters Nicole, 29, and Jessica Snow on Thursday in front of the McLean County courthouse advocate for their father, Jamie Snow, who they say was wrongfully convicted of murder in 2001.<\/em>
Brendan Denison<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andy Schiltz, of Bloomington, said he served as a juror in the case filed against Susan Claycomb Powell, who was acquitted of being Snow\u2019s getaway driver. He told The Pantagraph that he\u2019s convinced without a doubt that Snow is innocent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the case gives him no confidence in the justice system, in that prosecutors have too much power. Alexander and Schlitz both called for a convictions review board to be established in every judicial district in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also attending were two of Snow\u2019s daughters, Nicole and Jessica Snow. Now 29, Nicole Snow said she\u2019s been advocating for her father\u2019s innocence since she was in first grade, and she was just under 7 years old when he was convicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Several dozen attended a rally titled “Does Innocence Matter?” on Thursday at the McLean County Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington.            CLAY JACKSON, THE PANTAGRAPH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI often get told that I’m lucky that I was so young when my father was convicted,\u201d she said. However, she said she was aware enough to know a tragedy had hit the area, and something horrible was happening to her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snow said she\u2019s grateful to her mom, who became a single mother when her father was convicted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pain of her dad being ripped away caused irreversible effects, she said, and created a rift between her brothers, who were experiencing unimaginable heartbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was constant chaos and there was no reprieve in sight,\u201d said Snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the strength of her mother, and her aunt, Claycomb-Powell, inspired her. Nicole Snow said while she always struggled with anxiety and depression, and with maintaining personal relationships and boundaries therein, she only turned out okay \u201cthrough sheer willpower and the determination to prove other\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it wasn\u2019t because she was too young to understand what was happening to her family, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she turned to reading as an outlet, and took her mind to different worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Several dozen attended a rally titled “Does Innocence Matter?” on Thursday at the McLean County Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington.
CLAY JACKSON, THE PANTAGRAPH<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember being in grade school and hiding in the bathroom for hours reading,\u201d she said. \u201cI also remember disassociating on the school bus and imagining my dad stopping it and taking me home \u2014 the pipe dreams of a confused little girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI still find myself daydreaming that scenario, but as an adult now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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