Case right out of law school. other than that, this is basically my first criminal defense case. curtis was taking a huge gamble. on the other hand, she was broke, he didn t have a lot of options. cory died of massive liver disease. in his opening remarks, he said the state hadn t presented any evidence of murder for one reason, there was no murder. prove to you that she died as a result of an acute sudden onset condition brought on by her alcoholism. one of the defense s key goals was to debunk the damaging testimony of curtis ex, erika, he had violently attacked her and ripped her shirt. once we finished talking and i take my notes one of the first defense witnesses was major larry fuller with the illinois national guard. i asked her if she wanted to make a sworn statement, a formal sworn statement in writing. she said, yes, she would. erika filed a domestic violence charge with the guard since curtis at the time was
Could blame her if she would have done that? but that s not who she is. reporter: it looked as though curtis would have to use a public defender. but christine wouldn t accept that option. she worked her connections and eventually ended up here in chicago. she came to our office and told us her story and i remember finding it compelling and certainly worth exploring further. reporter: jon loevy is not a criminal lawyer. he s a civil rights attorney by practice who also does pro bono work with the exoneration project. its aim, overturn wrongful convictions. but curtis hadn t been convicted, at least not yet. still, loevy and co-counsel tara thompson decided to take the case. their services would be free. the main concern that i had in this case from the outset was really the lack of evidence. this didn t feel like a murder case from the beginning. reporter: with a new defense team in place, christine got
She worked her connections and eventually ended up here in chicago. she came to our office and told us her story and i remember finding it compelling and certainly worth exploring further. reporter: jon loevy is not a criminal lawyer. he s a civil rights attorney by practice who also does pro bono work with the exoneration project. its aim: overturn wrongful convictions. but curtis hadn t been convicted, at least not yet. still, loevy and co-counsel tara thompson decided to take the case. their services would be free. the main concern that i had in this case from the outset was really the lack of evidence. this didn t feel like a murder case from the beginning. reporter: with a new defense team in place, christine got working on her next goal: making bail to get her husband out of jail. friends eventually put up the cash. almost two years after his
Trial? it was. i did a battery criminal defense case right out of law school. other than that, this is basically my first criminal defense case. curtis was taking a huge gamble. on the other hand, since he was broke, he didn t have a lot of options. cory died of massive liver disease. in his opening remarks, he said the state hadn t presented any evidence of murder for one reason, there was no murder. medical evidence will prove to you that she died as a result of an acute sudden onset condition brought on by her alcoholism. one of the defense s key goals was to debunk the damaging testimony of curtis s ex, erika, he had violently attacked her and ripped her shirt. one of the first defense witnesses was major larry fuller with the illinois national guard. i asked her if she wanted to make a sworn statement, a formal sworn statement in writing. she said, yes, she would. erica filed a domestic violence charge with the guard since curtis at the time was still active.
Standin by her man. i m gone. yeah. and who who could who could blame her if she would have done that? but that s not who she is. reporter: it looked as though curtis would have to use a public defender. but christine wouldn t accept that option. she worked her connections and eventually ended up here in chicago. she came to our office and told us her story and i remember finding it compelling and certainly worth exploring further. reporter: jon loevy is not a criminal lawyer. he s a civil rights attorney by practice who also does pro bono work with the exoneration project. it s aim, overturn wrongful convictions. but curtis hadn t been convicted, at least not yet. still, loevy and co-counsel tara thompson decided to take the case. their services would be free. the main concern that i had in this case from the outset was really the lack of evidence. this didn t feel like a murder case from the beginning. reporter: with a new defense