The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that...

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that a judge had allowed the seating of jurors who were biased against Akeem Aki-Khuam during his trial on murder charges. Aki-Khuam, who at the time of his trial in 1993 was known as Edward Earl Williams, "was denied of his liberty by a jury whose very creation involved a denial of his statutory and constitutional rights," the appeals court ruled. The ruling found then-Lake County Superior Court Judge James Letsinger erred by refusing to allow Aki-Khuam's attorney to remove prospective jurors who had biases against the defendant. Aki-Khuam, 45, was convicted in the 1992 shooting deaths of Michael Richardson, 41; his sister, Debra Ann Rice, 42; and a neighbor, Robert Hollins, 26.