Paul Modrowski
| Paul Modrowski | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 30, 1974 |
| Criminal charge | accountability murder |
| Criminal penalty | life imprisonment |
| Criminal status |
Currently incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center |
Paul Modrowski is serving a life sentence for accountability murder[1] without parole at Stateville Correctional Center, located in Crest Hills, Illinois. He writes his own Prison Blog titled "Paul Modrowski- On the Inside".[2] In his blog, on which he states he has autism, he writes about what prison life is like.
Background
Prior to his arrest, Modrowski graduated from Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox, Illinois. According to his blog, in late 1992 Modrowski went to reside with Robert Faraci and his wife Rose, after struggling through relational issues with his father. On January 18, 1993, a woman and her daughter discovered a human corpse missing its head, left arm and right hand, along the railroad tracks in Barrington, Illinois. Through a note found in the victim's clothing containing two phone numbers, the corpse was identified as Dean Fawcett, who had gone missing in late December 1992. [3] On April 22, 1993, Robert Faraci was arrested for the murder of Dean Fawcett. Afterwards Mr. Faraci and his wife told the police various stories and blamed the murder on Modrowski, also naming Modrowski as the perpetrator in the nearby Brown's Chicken massacre, which had occurred on January 8, 1993. Based on these accusations, members of the Palatine Task force arrested Modrowski on April 28, 1993, charging him as a second suspect in the Dean Fawcett murder. [4] [5] According to his blog, immediately following his arrest, Modrowski claims that he was denied a lawyer and drilled for over 30 hours in interrogation, in which he was beaten by police. After Modrowski refused to speak, interrogators eventually decided to make up a false confession.
Inconsistencies in the case
Many people believed that Modrowski was also responsible for the Brown's Chicken massacre, due to the close proximity, timing and brutal nature of the two crimes. Although, Modrowski was never charged in the Brown's Chicken murders, he remained a prime suspect, until the arrest of Juan Luna and James Degorski in 2002. However, this became a key factor in effecting the outcome of the murder trial. Faraci and Modrowski were both tried for the murder of Dean Fawecett by two separate juries. The prosecution argued that the three men were involved in a check writing scheme and that Fawcett was murdered on the night of December 28, 1992, after threatening to come forward to police. Faraci was tried for the murder, while Modrowski was tried under Illinois murder accountability law. Officer John Robertson testified that Modrowski confessed to lending Faraci his car to carry out the murder. According to his blog, Modrowski claims that he never lent his car to anyone and had no knowledge of the murder and that the officer lied, making up the confession. Modrowski also claims that his defense attorney William Von Hoene was incompetent, refusing to dispute the officer's testimony and not allowing any witnesses to testify; including Modrowski's sister who reports that Modrowski was with her the night of the murder. Van Hoene also chose not to reveal Modrowski's diagnosis of autism to the jury. This led jury members to mistake Modrowksi's awkward body language, lack of eye contact and aloofness; all typical symptoms of autism; as lack of remorse and proven guilt. Just before the trail ended, Faraci's wife confessed to setting up Modrowski in order to have the blame removed from her husband.[6] Despite Faraci being acquitted of murder, two days later on February 17, 1995, Modrowski was found guilty of murder accountability. [7] On April 27, 1995, Modrowski was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Associate Cook County Judge Sam Amirante, who is quoted telling Modrowski, "I am going to give you the same hope that you gave to (Fawcett): no hope. . . . You deserve the term of natural life in prison." [8] Many people believe that the judge handed down such a harsh sentence, in a desperate attempt to appease the public in solving the unrelated Brown's Chicken massacre.
Prison blog
Since 2009, Modorwski has been writing a blog from prison. His blog describes what daily life is like at Stateville Correctional Center and also provides readers further information about his case, arrest and trial. Modrowski writes each blog entry by pencil and paper, then mails his writings to his family and friends, who post his blog online. Modrowski has never seen his internet blogs, since his prison does not allow internet access.
Attempts to free him
Following his 1995 conviction, Modrowski exhausted all of his regular set of appeals due to incompetent attorneys, who filed his appeals half-written and without supporting affidavits or in one case one day past the given deadline. After exhausting his regular set of appeals, Modrowski has filed five unsuccessful clemency petitions to the Illinois State Governor. He is currently working on his sixth clemency petition as well as seeking out a post-conviction appeal through legal counsel and the University of Illinois Innocence Project, in which he requests to have his DNA tested. There are online petitions to have Modrowski freed or be granted another trial. Also, there has been a small grassroots movement in the autism community to have him freed, since some people believe he is truly innocent. There are several online petitions to free him. One of the petitions is titled Free innocent autistic man. That petition has been created by a Paul's Friend who has Mild autism himself.
References
- ↑ "Brown's Chicken murders case could be entering final phase". Daily Herald.
- ↑
- ↑ "PEOPLE v. MODROWSKI". Findlaw.
- ↑ "Man being questioned about Palatine murders". nwi times.
- ↑ "2nd Suspect Charged In Mutilation". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ "Faraci's Wife Admits Lying About Beheading". tribunedigital-chicagotribune.
- ↑ "Modrowski Guilty In Beheading". tribunedigital-chicagotribune.
- ↑ "Modrowski Is Given Life In Prison". tribunedigital-chicagotribune.