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| Illinois Death Row Inmate's Lawyer Ruled Fit |
| By Chicago Tribune |
| Published: 04/10/2002 |
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Those seeking a new trial for Death Row inmate Aaron Patterson were dealt a setback recently, but they said a judge's decision did not reject the crux of their case--that police tortured Patterson to obtain his confession. Judge Michael P. Toomin determined he would not grant Patterson a new trial on the grounds his public defender was ineffective during Patterson's 1989 trial for stabbing a South Side couple. That attorney, Brian Dosch, testified in a hearing last year that he made an ill-advised move when he decided not to put Patterson on the stand to testify that he was mistreated by Chicago police. Toomin said he based his April 5 decision on Dosch's testimony that he did not have Patterson testify because he thought his case was going well and didn't need the testimony to gain an acquittal. Dosch also said he was concerned that having Patterson on the stand would have brought the former gang member's criminal past to light. The lawyer had the right to make a tactical choice, Toomin said in handing down his ruling. 'Perhaps it was wrong,' Toomin said. 'But I cannot say with the benefit of hindsight that it was unsound.' Still to be addressed by the judge are Patterson's claims of police torture. Patterson's case was sent back to Toomin in 2000, when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the adequacy of his counsel and the torture issue deserved to be heard. The judge will set a date for the next hearing this month. Patterson's family, attorneys, and a team of supporters say he was beaten by Chicago police officers, including Lt. Jon Burge, who was fired in 1993 by the Chicago Police Board. Patterson's attorney, Flint Taylor, said he is confident Patterson will get a new trial because there is more than enough evidence available to prove the torture allegation. Taylor said the defense will show that Patterson etched an account of his torture into a metal bench while in police custody. |
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