Murder of Jeanine Nicarico
The Jeanine Nicarico murder case was a complex and influential homicide investigation and prosecution in which two men, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez, both Latinos, were wrongfully convicted of abduction, rape and murder in 1985 in DuPage County, Illinois. They were both sentenced to death. The case was scrutinized during appeals for being weak in evidence. After appeals, one man was acquitted in 1995 at his third trial at which a witness recanted previous testimony and new DNA evidence was introduced; the second man, already serving time after being twice convicted, had his charges dismissed by the Illinois State's Attorney. Because of the notoriety of the case and the possibility at one point that two innocent men would have been executed, it was an influence on Governor George H. Ryan's decision in 2000 to impose a death penalty moratorium in the state.