In a low-key but dramatic court hearing Tuesday morning, a judge vacated an Aurora man’s convictions for murder and attempted murder and set him free after almost 12 years behind bars.
Jonathan Moore, now 30, had been imprisoned in the murder of Shawn Miller, 20, of Montgomery, and the attempted murder of a second man in a shooting in front of a coin laundry on Lincoln Avenue in Aurora on Aug. 24, 2000.
The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project became involved in Moore’s case after Aurora police approached them with the new information. Last year, they handled 208 cases — and none were prompted by a call from the police.
“It’s just incredible,” said Larry Golden, director of the project. “The police officers deserve tremendous credit. This is unheard of. I know we haven’t had a case like this.
“This is the kind of county you want to live in,” Golden said.
John Hanlon, legal director for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project, said McMahon “has done a very just thing and that doesn’t always happen.
The exoneration was featured in an March 7, 2012, Chicago Sun-Times article.
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