Jim Dey: Nearly 40 years later, accused killer hears magic word

Feb. 11—After 23 years and five governors, former death row inmate Randy Steidl had pretty much abandoned his long-sought goal of obtaining a gubernatorial pardon based on "innocence."

But he recently received an email surprise that informed him that Gov. J.B. Pritzker granted the pardon Dec. 14.

Steidl said he "didn't have any idea" that his pardon was even under consideration and that, most surprisingly, he didn't learn of Pritzker's decision until weeks after the governor made it.

In a letter addressed to the Edgar County Circuit Clerk, the governor, exercising authority granted to him under the Illinois Constitution, wrote "Steidl is hereby acquitted. ... and restored to all rights of citizenship." Pritzker's message said the pardon is "based upon innocence as if no conviction" had occurred.

The governor's action is another unusual twist in the horrific July 1986 double murder of a husband and wife in the Edgar County community of Paris.

Newlyweds Dyke and Karen Rhoads were victims of a torture murder, sustaining multiple stab wounds. The killer or killers then set the Rhoads house on fire.

Their bodies were discovered by firefighters, who initially thought they died in the fire. But autopsies revealed they had suffered dozens of stab wounds, some clearly intended to inflict severe pain but not death.

Given the age of the case and the botched initial investigation by Illinois State Police and local authorities, it's unlikely authorities ever will solve the case.

The strange facts surrounding the investigation and prosecution attracted attention far beyond East Central Illinois, including multiple broadcasts of the CBS News crime program "48 Hours."

Like most wrongful conviction cases, police had little to go on in terms of evidence and/or suspects. Eventually, they focused on two local residents: Steidl and Steidl acquaintance Herbert Whitlock.

Tried separately, Steidl was convicted of the Rhoads murders and sentenced to death. Although prosecutors alleged they acted in concert, Whitlock was convicted only of the murder of Karen Rhoads, another bizarre twist.

Both men adamantly protested their innocence in the killings, which prosecutors speculated was the product of a "drug deal gone bad."

Steidl was sentenced to death. But his sentence benefited him in an odd way, because it gave him access on appeal to high-quality defense lawyers.

They first appealed his case through the state courts and, after losing there, sought post-conviction relief in federal court.

In June 2003, then-U.S. Judge Michael McCuskey overturned Steidl's conviction based on the questionable evidence presented in his trial and Steidl's original lawyer's failure to adequately represent.

McCuskey ordered then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan either to re-try Steidl or release him from prison.

Faced with an un-winnable case, Madigan sought Steidl's release, and, after 17 years in prison, including 12 on death row, he walked free in 2004.

Whitlock was less fortunate. Serving a lengthy prison sentence, he lacked access to the high-quality counsel Steidl enjoyed.

"When you have a capital case like this, you get appellate lawyers who are experienced," said Steidl.

Whitlock agreed, citing what he called a "glaring disparity" in the quality of legal representation between himself and Steidl.

Fortunately for Whitlock, Chicago law Professor Richard Kling ultimately stepped forward to take Whitlock's case.

After serving 21 years in prison, Whitlock was finally released in 2008 after the Fourth District Appellate Court in Springfield reversed his conviction. Just as was the case with Steidl, the attorney general's office declined to re-try Whitlock.

Both men received multimillion-dollar settlements after they sued those responsible for their prosecutions and imprisonment.

Steidl, 71, now resides in Charleston and is retired after working in the printing industry. Whitlock, who's 78, lives in the Coles County community of Oakland.

Married and living in a "little house out in the country," Steidl said he doesn't "have any complaints" about life.

But he said he was frustrated his request for a pardon based on innocence was delayed for nearly two decades.

Steidl said he "gave up (hope) a long time ago" that he would ever get a pardon. But he said he is thrilled that he's "getting my name cleared."

Whitlock, not surprisingly, is unhappy that Steidl has received a pardon while he has not.

"How can Randy Steidl be factually innocent, and I'm not?" Whitlock asked.

That is a question that will not be answered by the responsible parties.

Citing statutory confidentiality requirements, neither the governor's office nor the Prisoner Review Board will discuss any aspect of the Steidl pardon.