The Fourth Judicial District Illinois Appellate Court staged two hearings for People v. Barton McNeil and People v. James Snow Tuesday morning at the Bone Student Center. Both cases involve two local men convicted of murder and claim they were wrongfully convicted.
People v. McNeil (10 a.m.)
Barton McNeil was convicted in 1999 for murdering his daughter, Christina McNeil, in 1998. A decade later, McNeil’s ex-girlfriend, Misook Nowlin-Wang, was convicted of murdering her mother-in-law, Linda Tyda. This reopened Barton McNeil’s case to reconsider his previous claim that Nowlin-Wang had murdered Christina.
This is the first court hearing for People v. Barton McNeil since November 2023 when Nowlin-Wang invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. All evidence presented by McNeil’s defense team was later deemed insufficient by the court.
Tuesday's argument was heard by judges Amy Lannerd, James Knecht and Peter Cavanagh.
Attorney Karl Leonard of the Exoneration Project represented McNeil.
Leonard said the case is not a “classic case of circumstantial evidence,” as the court previously tried to label it. He argued that DNA of Nowlin-Wang found at the crime scene after McNeil’s conviction warrants a new trial.
Leonard also referenced Nowlin-Wang’s overuse of the Fifth Amendment during questioning at a previous hearing.
Knecht challenged Leonard’s later references to the Tyda murder, through which Leonard intended to demonstrate Nowlin-Wang’s capability of murder. Knecht argued that the circumstances surrounding both cases are “significantly different,” focusing on the age difference of the victims.
Leonard said the circuit court had called the Tyda murder simply an “interesting case” when presented as potential evidence.
Leonard finished by repeating that the only reason McNeil was convicted at all was because of his admission to knowingly having been in his apartment at the time of his daughter’s death. Leonard said that the newly-discovered biological evidence, which had been previously requested by the court around the time of McNeil’s conviction, now warrants a new trial.
McNeil’s cousin Chris Ross spoke at a short media gathering after the hearing. Ross further emphasized the importance of the new DNA evidence.
“Normally, forensic and biological evidence is the gold standard of these kinds of cases,” Ross said. “[McNeil] was very hopeful, at the time [1998-1999], that he agreed to a bench trial that there was further DNA testing that was being done.”
Ross said the Tyda murder is relevant to the McNeil murder precisely because of the similarity.
“You have the smothering case of a child, then you have the asphyxiation case of an elderly woman,” Ross said. Asphyxiation in the first instance and asphyxiation in the second instance. They [the state] cite, for example, that the second case was premeditated, well, who’s to say the first case wasn’t also premeditated?”
More information about the case of Barton McNeil can be read on The Vidette here.
People v. James Snow (11 a.m.)
James (Jamie) Snow was convicted in 2001 for the murder of gas station attendant Bill Little in 1991, ten years after his supposed crime had been committed. Snow has maintained his innocence, saying that he was at Easter dinner with his family when the crime had occurred.
The argument for Snow's case was heard by judges Robert Steigmann, James Knecht and Peter Cavanagh.
Attorney Debra Loevy of the Exoneration Project represented Snow.
Loevy’s primary argument for Snow’s deserving a new trial was the discovery of 21 fingerprints found on the cash register at the scene of the crime. This is evidence that, like in McNeil’s case, couldn’t have been found due to weak methods of testing DNA at the time of Snow’s arrest.
Steigmann argued, saying that the request to present more DNA or fingerprint evidence is now inappropriate at this stage of the case. He also said that examination of areas like the gas station door alongside the cash register would have picked up hundreds of prints, which could have led to potential suspects.
Loevy said that it is the responsibility of the police to match any fingerprints from the gas station door with the cash register and then simply investigate, as it is their job.
Loevy also said Snow’s height is a six-inch differential from the described height of the suspect.
More information about the case of Jamie Snow can be read on The Vidette here.
