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Supreme Court says case against Beaman weak in 1993 murder
By Kurt Erickson
kurt.erickson@lee.net
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SPRINGFIELD -- The state’s highest court Thursday reversed the conviction of Alan Beaman, who has been in prison for 13 years for the murder of Illinois State University student Jennifer Lockmiller of Decatur. | Read Supreme Court's decision (PDF) | Summary of the court's opinion

The court said McLean County prosecutors violated Beaman’s constitutional right to due process of law and called for Beaman to get a new trial.

Alan Beaman


The decision means McLean County State’s Attorney Bill Yoder must decide whether to embark on a new prosecution of Beaman, 35.

Yoder said he is "saddened for the family of Jennifer Lockmiller."

"My office will take a short period of time ot review the opinion, meet and discuss our options with law enforcement and then announce the fashion in which we will proceed," Yoder said in a press release.

Beaman’s parents, Barry and Carol Beaman of Rockford, left their home Thursday to share the news with their son, who is serving his 50-year term at the state prison in Dixon.

"We’re pretty excited," said Carol Beaman.

Lockmiller, then 22, was found dead in August 1993 in her apartment on North Main street in Normal. She had been stabbed with scissors and strangled with the cord of a clock radio.

Beaman and Lockmiller had previously dated.

Beaman’s attorney, Karen Daniel, argued before the high court in January that the McLean County jury did not hear evidence that could have eliminated Beaman as a suspect.

The jury also wasn’t told about another potential suspect identified as John Doe, who had a romantic relationship with Lockmiller.

In its ruling, the court said the evidence against Beaman was "tenuous."

"In our view, the State’s evidence against petitioner was not particularly strong," wrote Justice Thomas Kilbride.

"They are saying it’s a weak case," said Daniel, of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law.

James Souk, who was an assistant McLean County state’s attorney at the time, prosecuted the case. Souk, now a judge, said through an aide Thursday that it would be improper for him to comment on the ruling because the case is still under litigation.

Members of Lockmiller’s family also decline comment Thursday.

Former Normal police detective Tony Daniels said he has the same doubts today about Beaman’s guilt as he did when he was arrested.

Daniels agreed with the high court ruling that there was more evidence pointing toward John Doe as being involved in Lockmiller’s death and that it was good news that Beaman’s case was sent back for retrial.

Daniels initially led the investigation into Lockmiller’s death, but was replaced as lead detective several weeks into the case.

It was not clear Thursday what the court’s reversal means for Beaman’s incarceration.

’’We have no details whatsoever,’’ Carol Beaman said.

’’The ball is in the prosecutor’s court,’’ added Daniel.

Beaman’s activities on the day of the murder became a focal point of his appeal.

A bank receipt placed Beaman in Rockford at 10:11 a.m. the day Lockmiller was killed 140 miles away in Normal. Two telephone calls placed from Beaman’s home to a church where Beaman attended also raise questions about whether he could have driven to Normal, committed the murder and returned home before his mother came home from a shopping trip.

Prosecutors conceded during arguments to the court in January that some information regarding the timing was disclosed to a grand jury but was not discussed at Beaman’s trial.

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Reader comments on this story - 51 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Serial_ killer wrote on Jun 14, 2008 5:15 PM:

" Same month, one year prior to Lockmiller's murder, a young blonde Real Estate woman was strangled showing a house in Decatur. Lockmiller was from Decatur. There could have been and still is a serial killer bent on killing young blonde women. "

Greed wrote on Jun 5, 2008 8:16 AM:

" I was not in the courtroom, but I always felt Beaman was railroaded by Souk (He's now a judge!). The jury evidently turned into sheep. A retrial would be a miscarriage of justice. I was surprised that noone on the jury had the nerve to question the flimsy evidence. "

gwiz wrote on Jun 3, 2008 3:41 AM:

" To my2cents: The bottom line is that a young man was killed by a NPD officer! Others also could have been injured by the officer. Hopefully my son won't be shot at and killed if he doesn't pull over 3 miles back! "

LexiLee wrote on May 25, 2008 12:12 AM:

" To: Pseudo-intellectual: I thought Louisiana was the most corrupt state in the union? "

knowing is half the battle wrote on May 23, 2008 9:58 PM:

" Wow! He looks a hell of a lot more guilty now then he did back in 93. I don't know. I still think he did it. "

SMSam wrote on May 23, 2008 4:27 PM:

" While both the outpouring of support for Alan and condemnation of the judicial system in McClean County are incredible, I wonder where all this was in 1995 when Alan was convicted by a "jury of his peers?" Why wasn't the media reporting the gaps in the trial?

Not only did I follow his case religiously, but I was among the few who fought for his rights and encouraged people to think beyond the verdict. I can't count how many times I was rejected, yelled at and discouraged by the local community. Alan has been incredibly fortunate to have his parents and team at Northwestern champion his innocence. I hope some restitution can be made to Alan and his family. They have all sacrificed a great deal for a total miscariage of justice that has finally been reversed.

As for myself, my perspective has never been the same. "

Sweetcheeks wrote on May 23, 2008 1:24 PM:

" This is the second story I have read this week over prosecuters hiding evidence that led to a conviction of an innocent man. If that were a civilain we would be jailed for lieing to police. "

my2cents wrote on May 23, 2008 12:31 PM:

" to utterly amazed ... if you're referencing what I think you are, an Eagle Scout driving a vehicle straight at me, around someone's house nonetheless, after you should've stopped 3 miles back, isn't totally defenseless. Had he stopped when the NPD first put on their lights, it never would've ended like it did. "

mrgmc wrote on May 23, 2008 9:43 AM:

" I have lived here most of my life, there are few Normal Police Officers that have earned respect, Daniels is one of them, the "Old School" Police. If he new that Beaman didn't do it, then who ORDERD him off the case. I have seen how this Government of Mclean county works. We basically have the same thing as Hendricks, States Attourneys who wnat to make a name for them selves. The problem with this is, that we as a tax payer "pays for it", the victim they choose "pays for it", and the legal system as a whole "pays for it". If the "Honorable"Judge Souk would admit he was going for glory and try to make some restitution to Beaman then and only then do I think that justice was served to Mr. Beaman. But we all know this won't happen, the new States Attourney will try to waste more money on Beaman and the real guilty party will still be partying like a rock star. My question to all of you is, Do you morally agree with this? "

dwarf wrote on May 23, 2008 8:58 AM:

" pseudo-intellectual - Isn't it more important to make sure innocent people are not put in jail for crimes they didn't - or at least probably didn't - commit?

I don't think it's the Center's job to find the real killer - that should be the police's and DA's job in the first place. "

Burns wrote on May 23, 2008 8:55 AM:

" Has John Doe left the building in light of this? That would be the biggest tell of all. "

isunormalil wrote on May 23, 2008 8:53 AM:

" To:pseudo-intellectual, why does it matter if the Center on Wrongful Convictions works with the state to find the real killer? So this kid should sit behind bars for the rest of his life just to satisfy a case as closed? Sounds crazy to me. "

earthling wrote on May 23, 2008 8:13 AM:

" What will the consequences be for James Souk and those in Reynard's State's Atty's office who made the decision to conceal evidence that clearly should have been disclosed? That office was all about winning convictions. What about "Jon Doe"? If guilty, will he see justice? Not now. How do you retry Mr Beamon now? No ____ing way! Way to "win" a conviction. You did it by cheating on the rules and cheating Justice. The Illinois Supreme Court was UNANIMOUS. Hey..all of you Christian death penalty lovers...isn't it good that he hadn't been executed? Maybe Beamon did it...but he did NOT receive a fair trial. Perhaps Bill Yoder, who is now stuck with this mess, created by his predecessor, wlil interview JUDGE Souk to ask "What were you thinking?"
"

meto wrote on May 23, 2008 7:57 AM:

" who was the judge at the time? "

pseudo-intellectual wrote on May 23, 2008 7:37 AM:

" Sorry about the typo- 15 years, not 22. It'll still be hard re-trying the case. "

BackfromGAafter5yrsSameB-N wrote on May 23, 2008 6:59 AM:

" Well, once again The Pantagraph did not post my comment on an Alan Beaman article! I guess my description of John Doe must be right on target. I knew Alan and his brother Kelly when we went to Wesleyan and I never thought he was capable or guilty of killing Jennifer. It is a shame he has wasted such a great part of his life behind bars for what John Doe (local and without an alibi!!!!!!) did. Hopefully Alan will soon be free. I know his family will help him get back on his feet so he can enjoy the freedoms that were wrongly taken from him all these years. I also hope they do a follow-up story on the TV show ("True Crimes?") I saw a few years back that highlighted this case. My mom called me when I lived in Georgia to tell me it would be on and I watched it in frustration because it was so obvious, even on the show, that Alan could not have done the crime. Hang in there, Alan! We know you are innocent! "

pseudo-intellectual wrote on May 23, 2008 6:44 AM:

" Does this Center on Wrongful Convictions ever work with the authorities to find the real killer in these cases they help to overturn? Do they care about the relatives of the deceased? Beaman may have been guilty- obviously there was substantial evidence he WAS guilty. The Supreme Court in this state is a JOKE- what do those men know about "justice" (in the most corrupt state in the union)? In any case, re-trying a case after 22 YEARS will be almost impossible. They might as well let the guy go. "

Jim4 wrote on May 23, 2008 1:21 AM:

" To irishman - David Hendricks was retried and aquitted. "

LexiLee wrote on May 23, 2008 1:09 AM:

" To Kiddinme22: Have never heard that one before, so thanks for the laugh. I hate to label the police either in BLM or Normal, but some of the traffic control in Normal is too much. But, I hope the police speed right to me if I need them!!!!

I too, always had some doubts about whether they really had the right guy on this one. The drive he would have had to made that night, evening speeding outside of Normal, just wasn't possible, IMO. "

jamie wrote on May 23, 2008 12:32 AM:

" Kdog is right - this was a flimsy case. Alan is a dear friend of mine and I knew he was innocent all along.
What happened to Jennifer is a tragedy and I hope the guilty party is brought to justice.
For now, though, it would be a triumph for the innocent to be freed! "

The Cats wrote on May 22, 2008 10:42 PM:

" To "Airwren"...try reading the decision. The court said the "PROSECUTORS violated his right to due process (by withhold exculpatory evidence)". "

purple1 wrote on May 22, 2008 9:58 PM:

" I have been following this case since 1993, sitting in courtroom after courtroom wondering when Alan would get justice. I can't believe it has taken 13 years to get here. I am so happy that the Supreme Court of Illinois finally hear what I hear.

Now it's time to get the right person for committing this murder. Let's start with taking a harder look at John Doe.

I commend Karen and Jeff for all their time and hard work. "

dancinggirl wrote on May 22, 2008 9:10 PM:

" Yoder's office does not re try cases because it is always harder the second time around. every one knows that his office can only handle one big case a year. "

isunormalil wrote on May 22, 2008 5:57 PM:

" I recommend that Yoder reimburse the state if he tries this young man again, and is found NOT GUILTY. Yoder thinks he is playing monopoly with our tax dollars. Go after the cigarette smokers...thats for real. "

Kevin wrote on May 22, 2008 5:45 PM:

" always thought he didn't do it but who did? "

NoLongerTowny wrote on May 22, 2008 4:55 PM:

" to airwen- while it may be true that it was the judge who did not allow the evidence in this particular case, I don't know for certain because i don't know all the details. Keep in mind that it is not a rarity these days that convictions are overturned because the prosecution did in fact withhold evidence. Also, prosecutors at times become judges so unfortunately that "take care of your own" mentality falls in to play, even more so years ago when the "authority" were able to get away with more. "

bushIQis6 wrote on May 22, 2008 3:55 PM:

" this ruling does NOT mean Alan is innocent as everyone here seems to believe. The evidence was that Alan was extremely jealous and had violent tendencies. he was cocky and arrogant on the stand which didn't help. "

isunormalil wrote on May 22, 2008 3:07 PM:

" I hope alan sues the broke state. The police in this community are a joke...example ie:PELO. "

irishman wrote on May 22, 2008 3:04 PM:

" They won't retry him. McLean county dosen't do retrials. Look at the Hendrecks
case. They don't like to look for new leads or look for the ones they missed. "

cats55ire wrote on May 22, 2008 3:00 PM:

" So when all is said and done . . .

WHO KILLED JENNIFER LOCKMILLER? I want to see that person (whoever it is) found and convicted and pay the price for this murder!!!!!
"

JulesBo wrote on May 22, 2008 2:42 PM:

" Free Alan today! Jen was my friend, as were 'John Doe' and Alan, in college. We never believed Alan would be convicted on that flimsy circumstantial non-evidence. If Alan drove to Normal and back at breakneck speeds, intent on killing Jen, wouldn't he have brought a weapon? Any idiot presented with the facts would say it was between implausible and impossible for Alan to be guilty...but obviously the jury did not get the facts. Instead of wasting your time retrying Alan, McLean County, go find the real scumbag who killed my beautiful, bright friend. And send Alan home today! "

kiddinme22 wrote on May 22, 2008 2:24 PM:

" Always thought they were wrong in this. You know what they say about Normal police "you can get away with anything, but just do not speed on the way out of town" How about the Old Hendricks case. Can mclean county and the police get anything right except drinking and speeding tickets? "

michelle24 wrote on May 22, 2008 2:11 PM:

" My heart broke for the Lockmilller family. I've always had reasonable doubt about Alan.
I hope he is freed soon, and the person responsible will finally be caught. "

Marsh wrote on May 22, 2008 1:48 PM:

" Ted Kennedy Swim Instructor, I think you are spot on with that dilema. The current prosecutors have been arguing for years that there was sufficient evidence of guilty. Are they now going to say that there is not? If they do, does that mean they were lying before? Or does it just mean that they did not want to bother with a 15 year old case? "

wkendguy wrote on May 22, 2008 1:44 PM:

" If the Pelo case is any example, it will be years before Beaman is retried. Hopefully, he will be let out of prison while awaiting a new trial. "

wkendguy wrote on May 22, 2008 1:39 PM:

" Always thought the evidence in this case was a strerch. Yet, I'm sure Mclean County will spend hard to come by dollars to re-prosecute the man. I see this costing the tax payers lots of money. When Prosecuters connect the lines anyway they want to get a conviction, it should come back on them, and them alone. "

airwren wrote on May 22, 2008 1:09 PM:

" And to The Cats I would remind you and everyone else that the prosecutors in the original case did nothing wrong. They cannot withhold evidence from the defense team. Ultimately it was the judge in that case that decided to not allow evidence...not the prosecutor. If anyone is to blame for mismanaging this case it's the judge and the defense team. "

UTTERLY AMAZED wrote on May 22, 2008 1:09 PM:

" Poor Alan did more time for something he didn't do then that Town of Normal "Former Mother" got for throwing her baby in the dumpster. Where is the justice in that? "

airwren wrote on May 22, 2008 1:02 PM:

" The simple fact of the matter is that the Mclean County prosecutor's office is going to look at their budget and see if they have the resources to retry a case like this. With the Pelo trial going on and the amount of resources they are dumping into trying that case I find it highly unlikely that Bill Yoder will dump even more county money into a high profile case like this that isn't a slam dunk. This case isn't a slam dunk so you can bet your money on the fact that they are going to decide to not retry him. "

who cares wrote on May 22, 2008 1:00 PM:

" if they withheld evidence to his innocences that sounds criminal to me.shouldn't they bring the prosecutor up on charges.the guy lost some of the best years of his life just because they needed a conviction.that shows me they can't be trusted at all. "

UTTERLY AMAZED wrote on May 22, 2008 12:53 PM:

" If Alan were a Town of Normal Police Officer accused of murdering a defenseless Eagle Scout, he would have never spent a day in jail. It seems to me that you really need to think hard about whom you are going to be accused of murdering these days. "

Bizzyboddy wrote on May 22, 2008 12:35 PM:

" Well thats the wheels of justice.. always grinding to a halt. The guy has done 13 years, for what? WAY TO GO McLean county prosecutors.... always good to have the best local talent on the most high profile and important cases. "

jimmy james wrote on May 22, 2008 12:32 PM:

" this could result in a very expensive settlement... heck'uva job, hacks! "

Ted Kennedy's Swim Instructor wrote on May 22, 2008 12:30 PM:

" Bill Yoder is going to have a heck of a time coming up with a good explanation for what his office is going to do. Option 1 is to re-try Beaman, and that won't look good given the torrent of evidence and public opinion that is leaning towards Beaman's innocence. Option 2 would be to drop charges against Beaman, and that wouldn't likely happen because that runs counter to the argument that the prosecutors "got the right man" all along. Prosecutors are loathe to admit mistakes; even mistakes that occurred before they were in office. "

fishpoop wrote on May 22, 2008 12:16 PM:

" I have been praying for Alan to finally get a FAIR trial and I hope he is out soon!!!!! We knew Alan and knew he didn't do it he was shafted! Hang in there Alan you are close to come home! "

Gov't oppressed Mule wrote on May 22, 2008 11:30 AM:

" KDOG- Isn't that the way police work? Guilty until proven inncent? "

The Cats wrote on May 22, 2008 11:08 AM:

" To all of those who post on these pages that justice is too slow and cumbersome...you always complain that the process to convict and sentence people is too slow. You also advocate more use of the death penalty and harsher sentences for crimes. You talk about prisons as "country clubs". You are wrong on all counts and this case is one of thousands every year that demonstrate the folly of your positions. Whether he gets out or not 14 years of his life have been wasted behind bars and the prosecutors who withheld the information sit in their nice houses and live their nice lives. Another sad case. "

prof wrote on May 22, 2008 11:04 AM:

" Perhaps Alan wil now (finally!) get justice. I encourage all to read the full court opinion. I hope McLean County sees that there is no evidence to support trying Alan again. It will be interesting to see if they finally go after John Doe, like they should have 15 years ago! "

Grandma of Two wrote on May 22, 2008 10:51 AM:

" You are right, Kdog. I followed this case very closely and was, still am, convinced that Beaman didn't do it. Of course, at that time, Beaman was a total hippy and looks will deceive. I'm glad he gets another chance. Makes you wonder what "John Doe" has been doing all these years. "

dwarf wrote on May 22, 2008 10:48 AM:

" Excellent news. This was a very flimsy case... The murder took place the year before I started at IWU, so I heard plenty about it on campus... "

Kdog wrote on May 22, 2008 10:29 AM:

" This case was mishandled from the start. Police latched on to a suspect then did what they needed to get him convicted, regardless of guilt. "
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