Donald Whalen is headed back to the Department of Corrections to complete the 30 years he must serve in the 1991 stabbing death of his father, the latest in a roller coaster ride of legal developments that swerved dramatically against Whalen on Tuesday after a judge reversed an earlier ruling granting Whalen a new trial.
With the 28 years he was in prison, Donald Whalen may be within weeks of release.
Credit IDOC
Judge Scott Drazewski ruled in 2019 that Whalen was entitled to a new trial, based in part on new DNA evidence related a pool cue found near William Whalen’s body hours after he was beaten to death at the bar he owned in downtown Bloomington.
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The McLean County Law and Justice Center has been host to multiple high-profile felony murder cases in recent years. Criminal justice advocates say it s time to amend the controversial law. Others in the legal community say that likely won t happen soon. Staff / WGLT
Advocates of criminal justice reform in the United States have had several achievements in the last couple of years. Both sides of the aisle embraced calls for lower prison populations. A growing social movement calls for rehabilitation over punishment.
Supporters say part of that debate should be changing Illinois felony murder law. But others in the legal community argue that s a long shot.
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