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Revision as of 07:37, 16 December 2018

Kathleen T. Zellner
BornMay 7, 1949
Midland, Texas
NationalityUS American
Alma materMarquette University, Concordia University, Northern Illinois University law school
OccupationAttorney
EmployerKathleen T. Zellner & Associates
Known forwrongful conviction advocacy
SpouseRobert Zellner
Websitekathleentzellner.com

Kathleen Zellner is an American attorney who has worked extensively in wrongful conviction advocacy. Notable clients Zellner has represented include Steven Avery, who was the subject of the 2015 Netflix series Making a Murderer, and the serial killer Larry Eyler.

Early life and education

Zellner was born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma.[1] Zellner decorated her childhood bedroom with wanted posters that her uncle, a postal inspector, had given to her.[1] Zellner attended Marquette University before transferring to Concordia University in Montreal.[2][1] She then attended law school at Northern Illinois University, graduating in 1983.[1][2] Zellner began working on personal injury cases before moving to defending hospitals and insurance companies.[2]

Wrongful conviction advocacy

Since Zellner began her law firm in January 1991, she has obtained the exoneration of many wrongfully convicted men. In one case, she obtained the release of death-row inmate Joseph Burrows by persuading the real killer, Gayle Potter, to confess to the murder. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the trial court decision releasing Burrows from death row.[3] In 1994, Zellner represented serial killer Larry Eyler. Hoping to have his death sentence commuted, he confessed to 21 unsolved homicides.[4] The offer was rejected, and Eyler died on death row in 1994. Zellner gave the information to the authorities after Eyler died.[5]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d Swartz, Tracy (October 18, 2018). "5 things about Chicago-area lawyer Kathleen Zellner as she makes her 'Making a Murderer' debut". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Rodriguez, Alex (December 9, 2001). "Lawyer in Roscetti case offers forgotten a lifeline". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  3. ^ "Perjured testimony by the actual killer put Joseph Burrows on death row". Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern Law. Chicago.
  4. ^ Conroy, John (July 30, 1992). "The Return of Larry Eyler". Chicago Reader.
  5. ^ The Telegraph March 9, 1994