The line that everyone in prison is innocent — or at least claims to be — is often bandied about by law enforcement personnel.
According to Marcus Beach, however, studies have found that about 3 percent, and possibly as high as 10 percent, of those serving in prison might have been wrongfully convicted.
A former Rantoul police sergeant, Beach, who retired from the department in 2023 after 27 years, now serves as director of the Wrongful Conviction Training Program for the Springfield-based Illinois Innocence Project.
Beach teaches classes to law enforcement personnel as part of a team that also includes an attorney from the project and two people who have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit.
“We have a speakers bureau of 24 exonerees from across the country that come in to share their stories,” Beach said.
One of those exonerees. Kristine Bunch of Indianapolis, appreciates the work that Beach does.
“He’s a force of nature,” she said. “He really changes your opinion of people. He sees the good in the world and how we can make things better.”
Larry Golden of Springfield founded the Illinois project and became passionate about it after attending a conference by the national innocence organization in New York.
The project was initially called the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project.
“We dropped that name after quickly learning there’s enough work all over the state,” Beach said.
A large number of the cases take place out of upstate Cook County.
The project carries an active caseload of about 55 cases in Illinois that are split among seven attorneys.
A three-pronged approach is used.
The first prong is freeing innocent men and women from prison.
“Our attorneys do a very good job” and serve at no charge. Beach said.
The second prong is education, which is where Beach comes in — “to educate on the issues of wrongful conviction” and make officers aware of the problem.
The third program is working closely with state legislators to change the criminal legal system in Illinois.
Beach said fellow Rantoul native Mike Schlosser, the now-retired director of the University of Illinois Police Training Institute, began a training program there after learning about the wrongful-conviction problem.
He worked with Goldenas well as then-Director of the Innocence Project John Hanlon and a professor at the University of Illinois-Springfield, Gwen Jordan, to start the program.
“Mike brought them to PTI a couple times a year to educate police recruits about the issues of wrongful conviction,” Beach said. “The program went on for about six years.”
A member of the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board observed the class and felt strongly that it should be taught at every police training academy in the state, Beach said.
The mandate went into effect in 2023.
Beach’s job is to go to all eight academies in Illinois that train full-time police officers and train new police officers about the issues of wrongful conviction.
There are a number of factors that can contribute to wrongful convictions, with the leading factor being the use of informants and incentivized testimony, according to Beach.
“Any time you incentivize someone to provide information they normally wouldn’t provide, you increase the risk of (them) giving false testimony,” Beach said, adding that officers must verify, to the best of ability, that the information they are providing is true before taking enforcement action.
In the training courses, officers are given best practices to avoid the use of false information.
Official and governmental misconduct is another culprit in wrongful convictions.
“We’ve seen examples of cops doing things they know they’re not supposed to do,” Beach said. “It’s not just cops. It’s a systemic issue. There are examples of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, defense attorneys, even juries.”
The purposeful or accidental use of incorrect forensic evidence is another problem.
Forensic experts can accidentally or purposely mismanage evidence. At times, Beach said, the experts testify beyond their abilities and instead give opinions.
Another culprit is eyewitness misidentification — someone incorrectly picking out an individual from a lineup in person or from a photo.
“What we find is that sometimes out of stress or trauma … memories aren’t as good as we think they ae,” Beach said. “Remembering people’s faces or identities is difficult.”
False confession is another problem.
Surprisingly, suspects confess to crimes — even murder and kidnapping — knowing they are innocent.
Beach said police sometimes use deception — which the Supreme Court has ruled is allowable — during interviews. That deception can lead to an innocent person confessing to a crime they didn’t commit.
Beach said the education on the issue of wrongful conviction has opened his eyes to a problem he had no idea existed.
“It saddens me” to realize how many innocent people there are in prison. “We have to do better.”
The work of the Innocence Project has resulted in the exoneration of 27 people.
Legion county officers elected
American Legion Department of Illinois Champaign County Council of the American Legion recognized elected officers Thursday night at the Sidney Legion Post 433.
Left to right: American council officers for 2025-26 Commander Bob Henderson, Finance Officer J.R. Stilwell, Senior Vice Commander Paul Haines, Junior Vice Commander Robbie Walker and commander-appointed Adjutant Cheryl Walker.
Five Unit 4 students perfect on ACT
Five students who attend Centennial and Champaign Central high schools learned they achieved a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT exam, the state-administered standardized assessment for high school juniors in Illinois.
They are:
Nia Bolton (Centennial); Rahul Chekuri (Central); Lynn Kim (Central); Aaron Rubico (Central); and Angelo Rubico (Central).
In addition, six other Unit 4 students earned a near-perfect 35 on the test:
Sachin Bhalerao (Central); Riti Bhosale (Centennial); Andres Bross (Central); Brady Hong (Central); Dayoung Lee (Centennial); and Lowell Miller (Central).
Sixty-nine out of the 735 students who took the test scored a 30 or better (which is roughly 9.4 percent of the tested population).
“We are extremely proud of these students,” Daniel Casillas, acting superintendent of Unit 4 Schools, said. “Achieving a perfect score on the ACT is not just a reflection of their intelligence, but of relentless dedication to push beyond limits. It’s a testament to the power of hard work and the belief that excellence is never out of reach.”
Graduating class of local apprentices recognized
United Association Local 149 in Savoy recently graduated a class of 15 apprentices before welcoming 17 new apprentices to the union.
The graduates, from left, are Trenton Smith, Villa Grove; AJ Schlueter, Deland; Webb Hancock, Urbana; Fletcher Roth, Mansfield; Matthew Peters, Decatur; Evan Bachert, Savoy; Jonathan Brown, Savoy; Leonard Buchholz IV, Tuscola; Josh Buening, Charleston; Pete Fortney, Monticello; Jordyn Brock, Weldon; Patrick Majers, Champaign; Arren Martin, Covington; Zach Ayers, Buckley. (Not pictured: Ryan Shugart, Oreana) Apprentices spend 10,000 hours on the job and 1,200 hours in the classroom, working in fields like plumbing, pipefitting, HVAC repair and more, before graduating to become journeymen.
Danville Rotary installs officers
Danville Noon Rotary held its installation of new officers for 2025-26 on June 16, conducted by Justice Rita Garman.
They are Stephanie Yates, public relations; Ross Webb, president-elect; Dr. Donald Rokosch, foundation; Emily Duncan, co-treasurer; Tonya Hill, membership; Terry Cummings, president; Diana Carranza, community service; Brandi Seabaugh, co-treasurer; Natalie Duncan, secretary; and Dr. Ronald Serfoss, vocational service.
Members heard an update on the Memorial Way project, which experienced its best year in more than 10 years, exceeding fundraising goals with a record number of volunteers.
A check was presented from Peter Blackmon for the Charity on Tap fundraiser held at Vermilion River Beer Co., with all proceeds assisting future Rotary projects.
Rotary President Tonya Hill presented a plaque to Mark Denman for his 10-year tenure serving as a director for the Rotary Foundation.
Garman, a long-standing Rotarian, was presented a Paul Harris fellow award for being a consistent example of what Rotary stands for — service above self.
Rokosch, past president and current assistant governor for the Danville and Hoopeston Rotary clubs, was acknowledged for his recent induction to the Danville High School Wall of Fame.
Hill, Rotary president, gave parting words, thanking members and officers and speaking of the goals that were surpassed over the last year. After receiving accolades for her leadership, she welcomed Cummings, incoming president, who discussed her ideas and plans for the future.
HONOR ROLL
On Mondays, we tip our hats to academic award-winners from our area. Submit information at [email protected]
DEANS LIST
Grove City College (Grove City, Pa.) — Delaney Miller, Mahomet.
Monmouth College (Monmouth) — Caleb Ochs, Royal; Karla Ramirez, Clinton; Vanessa Wright, Villa Grove.
St. Louis University (St. Louis) – Grace Lietz, Mahomet.
Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) — Cayla Koerner, Mahomet; Addy Martinie, St. Joseph; Shawn Stanley Monticello.
Elmhurst University (Elmhurst) — Jenna Rekart, Oakland; Hannah Schwarz, Roberts.
University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) — Will Martin, Lily Skiles, Champaign; Madison McTaggart, Gilman; Brooke Garretson, Sidney.
McKndree University (Lebanon, Ill.) — Jaxson Freeman, Loda; Halie Heinz, Gibson City; Olivia Terry, Champaign; Taylen Wait, Fithian.
Shenandoah University (Winchester, Va.) — Amanda Dasher, Monticello.
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) — Sam Bowers, Natalie Doyle, Mahomet; Katherine Wagner, Champaign.
Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa) — Drew Moser, Clinton.
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Oshkosh, Wis.) — Camden Harms, Mahomet.
Northern Illinois University (DeKalb) — Emma Hoskinson, Champaign; Amber-Christine Reed, Danville; Charlie Schmidt, DeLand; Katie Ashton, Mahomet; Quentin Brown, Paul Lehmann, Urbana.
University of Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.) — Claire Boettcher, Champaign.
Manchester University (North Manchester, Ind.) — Aiden Beachy, Tuscola.
Mount Mercy University (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) — Taylor Wells, Ogden.
