Daisy Contreras / NPR Illinois
Originally published on January 15, 2021 7:09 pm
In arguments Wednesday before the Illinois Supreme Court, lawyers for Alan Beaman continued their efforts to allow a jury to determine if several Normal police officers acted improperly during a murder investigation that resulted in Beaman serving more than a dozen years in prison before he was exonerated.
In 2008, the high court reversed Beaman’s conviction. Since his release, Beaman has pursued civil claims against the Town of Normal and former investigators Tim Freesmeyer, Dave Warner and Frank Zayas, all retired from the Normal police force.
On Wednesday, lawyer David Shapiro argued that Normal Police focused on Beaman as its primary suspect early on and ignored other, more viable suspects, including a man with a history of violence toward women, who sold drugs to Lockmiller and wanted to rekindle a relationship. The same suspect and his girlfriend lied to police about his whereabouts, s