Kathleen Zellner
Kathleen T. Zellner | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 7, 1949 Midland, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Marquette University, Concordia University, Northern Illinois University law school |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Employer | Kathleen T. Zellner & Associates |
| Known for | wrongful conviction advocacy |
| Spouse | Robert Zellner |
| Website | kathleentzellner.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, 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 19 wrongfully convicted men, handling many of these cases pro bono.[3] .[citation needed] In one case, she obtained the release of death row inmate Joseph Burrows by persuading the real killer to confess to the murder. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the trial court decision releasing Burrows from death row.[4] In 1994, Zellner represented serial killer Larry Eyler. Hoping to have his death sentence commuted, he confessed to 21 unsolved homicides.[5] The offer was rejected and Eyler died on death row in 1994. Zellner gave the information to the authorities after Eyler died.[6]
Other exonerations
Fox was imprisoned for eight months for the murder of his daughter, Riley Fox. Zellner represented Fox until he was cleared by DNA evidence and won a $15.5 million verdict against the government (reduced to $8.1 million on appeal).[7]
Ferguson was arrested in 2004 for the 2001 murder of Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt. His case generated national media coverage, and Ferguson gained support from many members of the public. He was released in November 2013 after Zellner and her firm convinced the only two witnesses against Ferguson, Charles Erickson and Jerry Trump, to admit that they had lied at trial. A multi-million-dollar civil rights lawsuit against the Columbia police officers who arrested and assisted in Ferguson's prosecution is currently[when?] pending in federal court.[8]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Rodriguez, Alex (December 9, 2001). "Lawyer in Roscetti case offers forgotten a lifeline". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
- ^ Pro Bono :: Kathleen Zellner
- ^ "Perjured testimony by the actual killer put Joseph Burrows on death row". Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern Law. Chicago.
- ^ Conroy, John (July 30, 1992). "The Return of Larry Eyler". Chicago Reader.
- ^ The Telegraph March 9, 1994
- ^ "The Nightmare: A Look at the Riley Fox Case". Chicago Magazine. Chicago, IL.
- ^ "Ryan Ferguson's attorney files civil rights lawsuit". CNN.
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