Juries doubt video evidence; two murder defendants freed

Twice this week, Cook County jurors decided not to trust the wordsof murder suspects and acquitted them despite videotaped confessions--breaking a string of 850 convictions in such cases.

Defense lawyers and several of the jurors said the cases shouldput prosecutors on notice.

"You need more than just the videotape," said a juror in the trialof Leroy Washington, who was found not guilty Monday in the killingof an off-duty Chicago firefighter. "It just didn't jibe, it didn'tsupport the evidence. Jurors like us are getting smarter."

The woman, who asked that her name not be used, said the jurywatched the tape during the trial and at least two more times indeliberations. She said it would have helped if Washington'sinterrogation had been taped as well as the confession, adding thatshe has heard of cases where people were exonerated even afterconfessing.

In the second case this week, a jury acquitted Terry Wilson onThursday for the 2001 slaying of a man he believed was attacking afamily member. A juror in that trial said the jury watched Wilson'sconfession during the trial and at least three other times, but itwasn't enough.

"Videotaping interrogations would have answered a lot ofquestions; it would have left little room for reasonable doubt," saidthe juror, who also asked that his name not be used. "Videotapinginterrogations would be fabulous; the law should have been passedlong ago."

Last month, Gov. Blagojevich signed a law requiring taping allinterrogations and confessions in homicides. It calls forinterrogations to be taped in two years.

Cook County prosecutors began taping confessions in the late 1990sand have taped them in more than 850 murder cases, said Bob Milan,first assistant with the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Milan said both acquittals this week had problems with otherevidence. Terry Wilson admitted hitting on the head with a board aman who was sexually assaulting a family member. In Washington'scase, the witnesses were not credible; one recanted her testimony.

"In the scheme of things, just because a person gives a videotapedconfession doesn't mean it's an extremely incriminating videotapedconfession," Milan said. "You are talking about two acquittals in 850cases. It's much ado about nothing. There's much more to a trial thanjust the statement."

Jim Mullenix, one of the two public defenders who representedWashington, said their client's confession lasted only about fiveminutes and was riddled with inconsistencies. Witness testimonydiffered from what Washington said on the tape, such as what hand thegun was in when he shot and how he disposed of the gun.

Juries are getting more skeptical, he said. While interviewinginterrogations will help, he said there will still be doubt about howthe suspects were treated.