by TChris

Add one more name to the list of wrongly convicted prisoners: Randy Steidl.

Steidl, 52, of Paris, Ill., spent a dozen years on death row for the murder of Paris newlyweds Dyke and Karen Rhoads and about five additional years after he was resentenced in 1999 to life in prison.

An Illinois State Police detective concluded four years ago that Steidl and a second Paris man convicted in the case, Herbert Whitlock, were innocent and that strong evidence linked an unnamed individual to the murders.

A federal judge ordered a new trial for Steidl after concluding that a jury would probably have acquitted him if his lawyer had done a better job. Developments after the trial also provided reason to question Steidl's guilt. A prosecution witness who said she saw Steidl killing the couple has recanted, and new DNA testing supports his innocence.

As is typical, the prosecutor in the case refuses to concede that he prosecuted an innocent man. Nonetheless, the prosecutor filed a motion asking that the charges be dismissed because he deems it impossible to pull together enough evidence to secure a conviction within the 120 day window during which (according to the federal judge's order) the state must either retry Steidl or set him free. He says -- presumably to save face -- that the case will require more investigation and that the charges will eventually be refiled. Translation: "I hope that after awhile everybody forgets about this case."

Whitlock is still in prison, but his lawyer is hopeful that these developments will eventually lead to Whitlock's freedom as well.