Judge Voids Murder Conviction of Then-Teen
A federal judge in Chicago threw out the conviction of a man who confessed to shooting an 11-year-old to death in 1994, when he himself was 14.
U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur ruled that police had improperly obtained Derrick Hardaway’s confession after more than 14 hours of interrogation.
Shadur noted that Hardaway’s parents were not present for the interrogation and said the police officer assigned to protect the youth’s interests “wholly failed to fulfill the role of a friendly adult,” as state law requires.
Hardaway was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
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