Lawyers for Jamie Snow must be given access to thousands of pages of police reports related to Snow’s conviction in the 1991 murder of a Bloomington gas station worker, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Snow, 55, attended the hearing in McLean County court — his first in-person hearing in more than a decade on his petition to secure DNA testing on evidence related to his conviction of killing William Little during an armed robbery. Snow is serving a life sentence on murder charges.
Snow’s lawyer, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, with the Exoneration Project, argued the police records contain information that could have a significant impact on Snow’s case. The reports include information on alternate suspects, confessions by others to the crime, and statements from witnesses whose recollections contradict testimony from others, according to Snow’s counsel.
Calling the need to request documents normally accessible to the defense “somewhat absurd,” Myerscough-Mueller said “there's no other way for us to get these documents.”
The normal channel for providing information to defense lawyers working on a defendant’s post-conviction petition broke down when one of Snow’s former lawyers went to prison and another died. Efforts by the Exoneration Project to obtain records from the state have been a lengthy process, spanning more than 15 years.
In July, Schuyler County Judge Ramon Escapa ordered the state to turn over the records to the defense for review. The case was moved to the 8th Judicial Circuit because of judicial conflicts in the 11th Judicial Circuit that includes McLean County.
First Assistant State's Attorney Brad Rigdon argued the defense has received the materials related to the DNA motion. Other documents contained in 11 PDF files are outside the scope of an initial subpoena sent to Bloomington Police and the Illinois State Police, said Rigdon.
The expansive materials were given as result of what the judge described as “a dump" of information by BPD related to Snow's case that far exceeded the subpoena request.
When asked by the judge if the materials contained any evidence that may not have been turned over during Snow's trial, Rigdon said he was uncertain if all the materials were available to Snow's previous legal team.
In his ruling giving the defense access to the materials, Escapa noted that parts of the 9,000 pages “would probably prove or disprove a lot of things for the state and the defense.”
Rigdon declined comment after the hearing.
Myerscough-Mueller told WGLT the information “will allow us to further investigate and follow different avenues to look at the credibility of witnesses. It could also speak further to our DNA motion.”
The defense is seeking DNA testing on 10 items related to fingerprint evidence.
An audience of Snow supporters packed the hearing, including several of his children. When he arrived in the courtroom, Snow waved to supporters and blew an air kiss from behind his mask to his close friend Tammy Alexander. The crowd applauded the judge’s decision.
A Nov. 10 hearing is scheduled to review the state's progress in turning over the records. The judge noted that redactions may be necessary from certain documents.
Before being escorted from the courtroom, Snow thanked the judge. “I appreciate your ruling today,” he said.
