What is Happening in Chicago?

The number of murders in Chicago from a year ago have increased 38%.  As of June 17, 240 murders have occurred in Chicago in 2012, 66 more murders than during the same period in 2011.  Other large cities, like New York and Los Angeles are either seeing their murder rates hold steady or decline.  In addition, other crimes in Chicago are actually on the decline.  Rapes, robberies, burglaries, and auto thefts have actually declined about 10 percent over a year ago.  Mayor Rahm Emmanuel is making the rising murder rate a priority in his administration.  He usually begins his day by reviewing reports about violence throughout the city overnight.  Emmanuel attributes the rising murder rate to the prevalence of street gangs and the ready availability of guns.  While the majority of the murders have occurred in the city's most gang infested neighborhoods, even some of the most affluent neighborhoods have been touched by the rising number of murders.  Experts are not ready to make any conclusions regarding the cause of the rising murder rate.  Some experts point to the city budget cuts which have left a shortfall in the number of police officers on the street.  Others point to the unusually warm summer which could explain the rise in violence.  

The warm hot summer has just begun and the streets of Chicago look like they will be particularly violent this summer.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.legaldefenderspc.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Court of Appeals Delivers Rare Harsh Criticism of Bureau of Prisons

In a rare move, the 7th Circuit Court of appeals delivered harsh criticism to the United States Bureau of Prisons for their decision to house an inmate in the same prison where his father had died many years earlier.  The case involves former Chicago Police officer John Ambrose.  Ambrose was convicted of leaking sensitive details about a cooperating witness to the mob.  The cooperating witness was Nick Calabrese.  Calabrese, a "made" member of the mob, was cooperating with federal officials giving them details about several unsolved murders.  Calabrese came to Chicago in 2003 and 2004.  Ambrose was assigned to provide security for Calabrese.  Ambrose was convicted of providing details about Calabrese's cooperation with federal law enforcement officials to the mob.  He was sentenced to four years in federal prison.  In 2006, the FBI came up with a ruse to get Ambrose to go to the FBI headquarters so they could take his gun away from him out of fear that he would commit suicide when he was confronted by the FBI with what he had done.  The Bureau of Prisons sent Ambrose to the same Texas prison that his father had died in many years earlier.  Ambrose's father was also a former Chicago Police Officer.  The Court of Appeals criticized the decision of the Bureau of Prisons for putting Ambrose in the same prison where he would be forced to overlook the same track that his father had died on and pointed out that the federal government should not be in the business of torturing people.  The Court of Appeals urged the Bureau of Prisons to reconsider their decision to put Ambrose in that prison.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Murder Rate Lowest in 40 Years

Chicago police recently announced that Chicago's murder rate has plunged to the lowest in 40 years.  In spite of this good news, the police have announced an initiative that specifically targets 2 districts in Chicago that account for roughly 25% of the murders in Chicago.  In the 7th and 11th Districts, Harrison and Englewood, roughly 25% of the shootings and murders occurred in those 2 districts.  During the first 2 weeks of 2012, roughly 33% of the shootings and murders occurred in those 2 districts.  These 2 districts are clearly the most dangerous districts in Chicago when examining violent crime rates.  The police have announced an initiative that will specifically target those 2 districts.  More than 100 police officers will be redeployed to Englewood and Harrison in May with an eye towards concentrating on illegal drug activity, vice activity, increased traffic stops and increased foot patrols.  This strategy is in line with recent efforts by the Chicago Police to target specific neighborhoods in an effort to combat crime.  It should be noted that this policy is at odds with statements recently made by Cook County Board President Toni Perwinkle who has stated that police should lay off low level non-violent offenders who put a strain on cash-strapped Cook County.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Supreme Court Rules Death Row Defendant Can Pursue Appeal

Last week the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on a case that we have been reporting on for some time.  The case involves Cory Maples, who had been convicted of two murders in Alabama and sentenced to death.  We first reported about this case on October 5, 2011.  Maples wanted to appeal his murder conviction and death sentence because his attorneys failed to argue that he was impaired at the time of the murders.  His initial appeal was denied and the court mailed out notice to his attorneys that they had 42 days to file an appeal.  Both of the young attorneys that had handled his case and his appeal had left the firm and had not informed the clerk of the court, the prosecutor, or Mr. Maples.  The notices that had been mailed to his attorneys were "Returned to Sender."  The Clerk of the Court did nothing when they received these notices back in the mail.  The 42 days came and went and Maples did not pursue his appeal.  The Alabama courts ruled that he had lost his right to appeal.  Last week, the United States Supreme Court ruled Maples had withstood a "veritable perfect storm of misfortune" and should be allowed to pursue his appeal.  But while this was the part of the story which gathered all the attention, there's another part of the decision which we would like to discuss.  In its decision, the United States Supreme took a swipe at Alabama for it s unjust system of capital punishment.  The majority opinion was delivered by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.  She pointed out that Alabama only requires that an attorney appointed to represent an indigent defendant in a capital case have 5 years of criminal law experience.  No capital case experience is required.  The state does not provide, nor does it require any professional education or training in capital cases, appointed lawyers are underpaid.  In addition, Alabama is one of the only states that does not provide legal representation throughout post conviction proceedings.  This means that a defendant with the financial resources can often escape the Death Penalty, whereas a poor defendant is left to fend for themselves.  In Maples case, his lawyers admitted that they were "stumbling around in the dark" because they lacked experience handling capital cases.  The Supreme Court's decision means that Alabama lawmakers should do more to insure that indigent criminal defendants have adequate legal representation in Alabama.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Louisiana Murder Case

On Tuesday the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on an interesting Louisiana murder case.  Juan Smith had been convicted of five murders at a New Orleans house party in 1995.  At trial, a witness testified that he saw Smith walk through the front door of the house and was face to face with Smith and that he would never forget him.  But on the night of the murders the witness had told the police that he could not identify the shooter other that he was African-American and had gold teeth.  Five days later he told the police the same thing.  The prosecutors never revealed this to Smith's attorneys prior to trial.  At the time of the trial, the prosecutor's office would not turn over all the evidence to defendants.  The current prosecutor turns over all evidence today.  The state agreed that the evidence should have been turned over but argued that even if it had been turned over, it would not have made a difference.  

The Supreme Court's decision in this case will have major implications for Smith who has been sentenced to death for three other murders.  Prosecutors used his conviction for these murders in arguing for the death penalty on the other case.  Its possible that if Smith wins the appeal, then his death sentence for the three other murders may also be overturned.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Forbes Most Dangerous Cities

Forbes Magazine has released their list of the country's most dangerous cities.  In order to qualify, a city has to meet some basic criteria.  The city must have a population greater than 200,000.  The statistics are compiled by looking at the number of violent crimes per 100,000 citizens.  Violent crimes is defined as murder, voluntary manslaughter, forcible rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault.  The top five cities are set forth as follows:

1.  Detroit, Michigan - First place with 345 murders and 1,111 violent crimes per 100,000 citizens.  

2.  Memphis, Tennessee - The poorest large city in the United States.

3.  Springfield, Illinois - Springfield just barely qualified to be included in this survey because they only have a population of 206,601.  The high crime rate is associated with the fact that 44% of Springfield's population is under the age of 44.  Crime is associated with the youth.

4.  Flint, Michigan - High unemployment for a long period of time.

5.  Anchorage, Alaska - Anchorage has been hit by a big methamphetamine problem.  Plus, there is a high rate of forcible rapes.

Rounding out the top ten is Lubbock, Texas at number 6, Stockton, California at number 7, Tallahassee, Florida at number 8, Las Vegas, Nevada at number 9, and Rockford, Illinois at number 10.  

Other than Michigan, Illinois is the only other state with the distinction of having 2 of its cities on the top 10 list of the country's most dangerous cities.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295. 

Supreme Court Hears Missed Deadline Capital Case

In 1995, Cory Maples shot and killed two friends in an Alabama bar after a night of drinking and doing drugs.  He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.  Maples wanted to appeal the death sentence because his attorneys failed to argue that he was impaired at the time of the murders so as to avoid the death penalty.  His initial appeal was denied and the court clerk sent his attorneys notice that under local court rules that they had 42 days to file an appeal.  The two young attorneys that were handling his appeal had left the law firm and the notice was returned to the Clerk of the Court marked "Return to Sender - Left Firm."  The 42 day deadline to file the appeal expired and Alabama prosecutors took a hard line and fought Maples' efforts to pursue his appeal claiming that the time to file an appeal had expired and his case was over.  The United States Court of Appeals in Alabama agreed and barred Maples from pursuing his appeal.  Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court took up Maples appeal.  The issue is whether a defendant sentenced to death can pursue his appeal even though he missed court filing deadlines?

According to published reports, during oral arguments, the majority of judges seemed sympathetic to Maples.  Only one justice, Antonin Scalia, seemed to be siding with the prosecutors.  Scalia seemed to believe that since Maples had a local lawyer, he had ample opportunity to be informed of his appellate rights.  But the Chief Justice pointed out that the local lawyer did nothing on the case and only seemed to have his name on the case. Even Samuel Alito, another very conservative justice, seemed to indicate that Alabama prosecutors were wrong to oppose Maples' attempts to pursue his appeal.

The case is Maples v. Thomas, 10-63.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Crime Rate Continues to Drop

Chicago's crime rate continued to decline in April.  This decline marks the 28th consecutive monthly decline, according to the Chicago Police Department.  Last year's murder rate was the lowest in Chicago since 1965.  The current figures released by the Chicago Police Department indicate that the murder rate in 2011 may be even lower than last year.  There have been 17 fewer murders so far this year than during the same period of time in 2010.  This represents a decline of 14.2 percent from 2010.  In addition, Aggravated Batteries were down 17.8 percent, Aggravated Assaults declined by about the same percentage and Robberies and Sexual Assaults also decreased sharply.  All property crimes were lower, except for vehicle thefts which actually increased by 20 percent.  

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Inmate In DNA Case

The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of an inmate convicted of the murder of his girlfriend and 2 adult sons and sentenced to death who is seeking to have a DNA test performed on crime-scene evidence.  We originally reported on this case on May 24, 2010.  We reported that the Supreme Court had agreed to hear this case.  Within three hours after the bodies of Skinner's girlfriend and 2 adult sons were discovered by the police, Skinner was found hiding in the closet of a woman he knew.  The blood of at least one victim was found on Skinner and the police had tracked the trail of blood from the crime scene to the closet in which Skinner was found.  However, additional evidence found at the crime scene was not tested because his attorney feared that those test results could make the murder case against Skinner stronger.  Skinner was eventually convicted of the murders and now argues that DNA tests on this other crime-scene evidence would exonerate him.  He admits being in the home at the time of the murders but insists that he could not have committed the murders because he was passed out from a mix of vodka and codeine.  His attorneys now point to a deceased uncle of his girlfriend as the possible murderer.  After Skinner was convicted of the murders he tried to invoke a Texas law which allows inmates to request DNA testing after their conviction.  Texas refused to grant him the DNA testing so he filed a lawsuit in Federal Court invoking 42 U.S.C. 1983, the so called Section 1983 to request a DNA test.  The court refused to rule on the merits of Skinner's claim but opened the door to allow Skinner to make the claim in court.  His case now returns to the trial court to determine whether he will be allowed access to the DNA testing.  Analysts see this is a narrow procedural ruling which opens the door to inmates seeking DNA testing after they are convicted.

The case is Skinner v. Seitzer, 09-9000.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

FBI Sting Leads To 678 Arrests Across The Nation

A three month investigation lead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lead to the arrests of 678 people with alleged ties to the Mexican drug cartels.  322 of the people arrested had violent criminal histories.  The operation targeted foreign nationals from international gangs that deal with identity theft, fraud, weapons trafficking and drug dealing.  ICE claims that members of these international gangs have committed robberies, murders, assaults and rapes.  164 people were arrested for non drug related violations and immigration violations.  Law enforcement officials seized 86 guns, eight pounds of methamphetamine, 30 pounds of marijuana, one pound of cocaine, $70,000 in cash and two vehicles.  The operation involved at least 173 law enforcement agencies.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Steady Decrease In City Crime Rate Continues

The overall crime rate in the City of Chicago dropped for the 25th consecutive month.  Compared to January of 2010 the overall crime rate decreased by 10.6%.  In 2010, the city had the fewest number of murders since 1965.  However, the number of murders in January of 2011 were more than in January of 2010.  In January of 2010 there were 22 murders and in January of 2011 there were 28 murders.  Every other category of violent crime decreased by double digits.  Ciminal Sexual Assaults decreased 13 percent, Aggravated Assaults dropped 11.3%, Aggravated Batteries dropped 10.1%, and Robberies dropped 10.4%.  Every category of property crimes, except car thefts, also had a substantial drop.  Car thefts were actually up by 21.8%.  General theft dropped 20.7%, Burglary dropped 6% and Arsons dropped 4.7%.  

Chicago Police Superintendent, Jody Weis indicated that police will continue to focus and guns and gangs saying that the majority violent crimes are caused by illegal guns.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Crime Rate Continues To Decline

For the 22nd consecutive month, the crime rate in Chicago declined in almost every major category.  There is an outside chance that 2010 could see the lowest murder rate in modern history.  From January to October of this year, there had been 379 murders.  This is 9 fewer than the same time period in 2009.  The 2010 murder rate is keeping pace with the 2007 murder rate.  In 2007, there were 435 murders.  This was the lowest figure since 1965.  If the murder rate stays low in November and December, the 2010 figures could beat the 2007 figures.  In 1965 there were only 395 murders.  It is highly unlikely that 2010's figures will beat the 1965 numbers.  These new figures reflect a continuing steady decline in the murder rate in the past 15 years.  There was a huge jump in the murder rate in the early 90's, but there have not been more than 500 murders in the past six years.  Roughly 55 percent of murders were gang related.  This is why the Chicago Police have been focusing their attention on dealing with gangs.  The number of criminal sexual assaults were down 7.6 percent, robberies were down 11.6 percent and aggravated assaults dropped 12.2 percent.  

The good news about the murder rate doesn't change the fact that out of all major U.S. cities, Chicago has the second highest per capita murder rate.  In 2009, there were 16 murders per 100,000 people.  Los Angeles had 8 out of 100,000 and New York had fewer than six out of 100,000.  Philadelphia is in first place.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Kane County Files Civil Suit Against Elgin Gang Members

The Kane County State's Attorney's Office has filed a civil lawsuit against 79 members of an Elgin street gang.  The lawsuit is requesting that an injunction is granted prohibiting the gang members from associating with or contacting other gang members.  The lawsuit was filed on September 8 and most defendants have been personally served with the lawsuit.  If the injunction is granted, if gang members are caught associating with other gang members, they risk being arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.  Once they are placed under arrest they can be searched and other charges may develop if something illegal is found on them.  They also will face the consequences of a misdemeanor conviction which could carry a jail sentence of up to one year in jail.  The lawsuit also seeks unspecified monetary damages for the harm caused by the gang activity.  The lawsuit specifically refers to eight specific crimes that were committed between 1998 and 2008 including two murders, aggravated batteries with firearms, aggravated unlawful use of weapons by felons, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated batteries.  

DuPage County has filed four similar lawsuits involving gangs operating in Assison and West Chicago and Boone County has also filed a similar lawsuit.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Police Ramping Up Mobile Strike Teams

The Chicago Police Department is drastically increasing it's Mobile Strike Teams.  Police officials are noticing a drastic drop in murders in districts and neighborhoods where Mobile Strike Teams have been deployed.  Last month, no one was killed in the five police districts where mobile strike teams were deployed.  Over the last three years, murders were down more than 98 percent in districts on the days that mobile strike teams were deployed.  Police officials now believe that these Mobile Strike Teams are a big reason that the crime rate in Chicago dropped 4.5 percent through September of this year.  The Mobile Strike Force was started in 1998 to deploy the same tactics used against insurgents in Iraq.  There are currently four companies of Strike Force officers consisting of 48 officers, six sergeants and a lieutenant.  They all work during the evening.  One of these companies was supposed to be temporary but will now become permanent and will be used during the daytime.  This means that over 100 officers will move permanently to the Mobile Strike Force.  The officers will be taken from beat cars.  The beat cars are already experiencing a shortage of officers.  The Mobile Strike Force focuses on high crime areas, such as the Harrison and Englewood districts.  When a district commander finds out that a problem is brewing, they will contact the Mobile Strike Force and officers will be sent to quickly respond.  Apparently, gang leaders are already taking notice.  Police state that gang leaders have been heard talking about the Mobile Strike Force and have instructed their members to not sell drugs when they see the Mobile Strike Force officers in their neighborhoods.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Overall City Crime Rate Drops But Vehicle Thefts Up

The Chicago Police have announced that the overall crime rate dropped 4.5% from January to September when compared to the same time period as last year.  However, vehicle thefts were up 22.3% during the same time period.  The drop in the crime rate is the 21st consecutive monthly drop.  The number of murders declined by 2.3 percent.  The murder rate had slightly increased in August of this year.  At the current rate, Chicago stands to equal the 2007 murder rate, which was the lowest since 1965.  Violent crime was down 11 percent, aggravated batteries declined 7.7 percent.  Robberies and aggravated assaults also showed major declines and criminal sexual assaults were down more than 9 percent.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Ohio Death Row Case Raises Questions Of Innocence

Kevin Keith is set to be executed by lethal injection in Ohio on September 15.  Keith is claiming that he is innocent.  While there's nothing unusual about his proclamation, what is unusual is the growing support in the legal community for his claims.  Prosecutors allege that on February 13, 1994, Keith murdered three people because he believed that they had informed on him to police investigating his illegal drug sales.  One of the murder victims was a 4 year old girl.  Several witnesses testified against Keith at trial and his attorneys did not produce any mitigating evidence at his sentencing hearing and he was sentenced to the death penalty.  A closer look at Keith's case offers some good reasons why a new trial or commutation of his death sentence may be warranted.  Some 31 former judges and prosecutors are supporting Keith's claims.  At his trial, the police had mentioned that a witness, by the name of "Amy Gimmets" had given them the name of "Keith" as the shooter who committed the murders.  Keith's defense attorneys discovered that "Amy Gimmets" does not exist.  They argue that if the jury had been told that "Amy Gimmets" did not exist, it may have undermined the credibility of the police witness.  Also, the 911 police logs do not support the police and prosecution theories of the case.  At trial, the police and prosecutors told that jury that witness John Foor had called the police and told them that the shooter was "Kevin."  The 911 tapes do not support this contention.  The same 911 tapes also show an important discrepancy in the trial testimony of a witness who claims she found a shell casing near the scene of the crime.  The shell casing was the sole piece of physical evidence prosecutors used to connect Keith to the murder.  On top of these problems, there is also compelling evidence that another man, Rodney Melton, may have committed the murders.  Keith's attorneys claim that Melton is the most likely suspect.  Melton was seen in the area right after the murders, he drove the same type of car that was driven by the shooter, Melton's license plate numbers matched partial license plate numbers that the police lifted from the snow, had an extensive violent criminal record and had previously been convicted of murder, and had told a police informant that he had been paid $15,000 to cripple a family member of some of the murder victims.  In addition, Melton had gone to the hospital on the night of the shootings and told a family member that the victims had gotten what they deserve for snitching.

Prosecutors are fighting Keith's claims of innocence and insisting that he was the murderer.  Keith is facing an uphill battle.  Post-conviction efforts by inmates like Keith have been dramatically limited by an ever-increasing conservative Supreme Court.  

We will keep you updated on any developments in this interesting case which raises serious questions about the imposition of the death penalty against a man that may be innocent.  At the very least, his claims deserve to be thoroughly examined before he is executed.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Congratulations Maywood! No Murders For One Year

The Village of Maywood is celebrating an important milestone.  For the first time that anyone can remember, there has not been a single murder in Maywood for one year.  As recently as 2003 there were 20 murders in Maywood.  In 2006 there were 11 murders in Maywood, 5 in 2007, 12 in 2008 and 2 in 2009.  Village and Police officials have been hard at work trying to reduce that number.  More officers were put on the street and about 79 surveillance cameras have been placed at problem locations in the town.  Police officers will approach groups of people standing on street corners and ask questions of them. 

Congratulations to Maywood for coming a long way!

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Study Suggest Murder Rate May Affect Kid's IQ Scores

A New York Sociology Professor has released the results of a study which suggest that a murder in a neighborhood may significantly reduce a child's score on an IQ test.  This would happen even if the child did not witness the murder.  Analysts think that this may fit into the type of results seen in post traumatic stress cases.  In an IQ test, the normal score is 100.  One standard deviation is 15 points.  If a child took an IQ test within one week of a murder occurring in their neighborhood, their IQ test score was 7 or 8 points lower than a similar child living in a similar neighborhood in which there was no murder.  The test took samples from tests taken from 6,000 murders that occurred in Chicago.  What is interesting is that the study suggests that this effect wears away after about a week or nine days.  In other words, the test results return back to normal after a week or nine days of the murder.  But in some neighborhoods, statistics would suggest that some kids are subjected to this phenomenon a week a month.  Nationally, black children score one standard deviation lower than white children on standardized tests.  This study suggests a possible partial explanation for this.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Crime Rate Down But Murder Rate Up

The Chicago Police report that the crime rate has dropped  5.8 percent in the city but murders are up nearly 4 percent compared to 2009.  Between January and May of 2010 there were 164 murders in Chicago.  There were 158 murders for the same time period in 2009.  Other violent crimes, like criminal sexual assault and robberies have decreased.  Even property crimes, which include burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, have dropped 4.2 percent. 

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Police Having Harder Time Solving Murders

The Scripps Howard News Service has released a study involving unsolved murders.  The study reveals an alarming rise in the number of unsolved murders.  Of the nation's 100 largest police departments only 63% of murders have been solved.  In the 1960's, this number was regularly at 90 percent.  Nearly 185,000 murders went unsolved between 1980 and 2008.  Police fail to make arrests in over one-third of all murders.  In Cook County, only about one-third of all murders since 1980 have been solved.  Police only solved 35 percent of the murders in Chicago in 2008.  Many experts believe that the reason for these numbers is that more and more murders are drug and gang related, as opposed to crimes of passion.  It's easier to identify a suspect in a crime of passion than in a drug or gang related murder.  The study showed a wide range or disparity in these numbers from city to city.  In New Orleans, only 22 percent of murders were solved.  In Detroit, only 21 percent of murders were solved.  In Philadelphia, 75 percent of murders were solved, 92 percent in Denver and 94 percent in San Diego.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.