Disparities in Postconviction Remedies for Those Who Plead Guilty and Those Convicted at Trial: A Survey of State Statutes and Recommendations for Reform

Abstract

On November 19, 1991, a fourteen-year-old girl named Cateresa Matthews went missing in her hometown of Dixmoor, Illinois. 1 A few weeks later, her body was found in a nearby field; she had been sexually assaulted and died from a gunshot wound to the mouth. 2 In late October and early November 1992, police arrested five suspects, all between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, named Robert Taylor, Robert Lee Veal, Jonathan Barr, James Harden, and Shainne Sharp-a group that later came to be known as the "Dixmoor Five." 3 After lengthy interrogations by police, three of the teens confessed to the crime, each implicating the five teens who were ultimately charged. 4 During the pretrial investigation, DNA testing was conducted on sperm recovered from the victim's body; the results excluded all five of the teenagers.Regardless, the State continued to