ROCKFORD A certificate of innocence granted in late February to Patrick Pursley is being contested.
The Winnebago County State s Attorney s Office as well as a private law firm representing seven retired Rockford police detectives who pegged Pursley as the gunman who robbed and fatally shot Andy Ascher in 1993 have filed a motion to reconsider.
The request was filed Wednesday just within the 30-day time frame permitted, prosecutors said. The certificate, among other things, allows Pursley to file for up to $220,000 in compensation for being incarcerated for 23 years.
Mike Iasparro, an attorney with the law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson, and Andrew Fisk, an assistant state s attorney, said the motion was filed on the basis of new evidence. Iasparro went on to explain Thursday it is actually the same ballistics evidence that only recently has been properly tested.