May 29, 2009 by bkzoner
I want to sincerely thank everyone who has taken the time to join in, and post to this forum.
Mr. Heirens will up before the parole board again on July 7th. Bill's age and health are such that he may not have many more opportunities for a chance at freedom.
Given the facts of the case, and the parole board's refusal to take these facts into consideration in the past, Bill needs all the help and support he can get to convince the board that he deserves at least the benefit of strong doubt of his guilt.
Those who feel strongly about Bill's innocence are asked to write to, or contact the Prisoner Review Board at:
Illinois Prisoner Review Board
319 East Madison Street, Suite A
Springfield, IL 62701
Telephone: (217) 782-7273
Fax: (217) 524-0012
February 14, 2009 by bkzoner
Ms. Kennedy's book, William Heirens: His Day in Court/Did an Innocent Man Confess to Three Grisly Murders?, can be purchased online from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/William-Heirens-Innocent-Confess-Murders/dp/0929387503
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Along with glowing reports of Ms. Kennedy's book, there is a customer review posted about the book by someone at Amazon who I feel is ignorant of the facts of Bill's case. That review has been commented on by another person, and by me at http://www.amazon.com/review/RH311I0OU24N6/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RH311I0OU24N6
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It is this ignorance, and the pride and greed of those who have the power to release Bill that keeps him wrongfully imprisoned.
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The content of that review, and the comments follow:
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Zealous and Impassioned, But Lacking Objectivity,
By A Customer
Conjure up the name William Heirens in 1950 for example, and most Chicagoans would turn away and shudder in horror at the mere mention of this child-killer. Flash forward to 2002 and be amazed by the interesting and unique ways in which Heirens has re-invented himself, thanks to the impassioned pleas of the author of this book and a collection of bleeding-heart do-gooders from the Northwestern University campus recruited into the cause, and you will come away believing that "Bill" as Ms. Kennedy lovingly refers to him throughout the text, should be anointed spiritual sainthood as the tragic "victim" of a corrupt and misspent judicial system. It is interesting to see however, in this era of political correctness, horrible things done by wicked people become safely sanitized, and in the case of Heirens, a fiend magically evolves into a fine fellow. Ms. Kennedy devoted considerable time to convincing us of Heirens' innocence, but despite her arguments in this book, subsequent press conferences demanding the release of fingerprint evidence from the Chicago P.D. that will allegedly clear the accused, and a plea to an outgoing Illinois Governor who pardoned nearly every killer on death row before his scandal-ridden term of office mercifully expired (but he STILL ignored Heirens curiously enough),the subject of this book is no closer to being released from custody than he was forty years ago when his case went to the Supreme Court. And with good reason. Heirens was no choir boy. He was a skilled breaking-and-entering thief who may or may not have killed at least two other women on the North Side of Chicago prior to the 1946 murder of 7-year-old Suzanne Degnan, conveniently forgotten by the weeping multitudes from N.U. The sheer horror of this child's abduction and the manner in which the remains were disposed of in the city sewers demonstrates the killer's sickness of mind. Heirens was not arrested on a whim. His capture was the result of a coordinated response between law enforcement and the community. And yes, Heirens probably was the victim of overly-aggressive police tactics in those days, but so what. So were many other convicted rapists, killers, dope dealers and sexual deviates preying on society. It doesn't mean however, that rough police actions made these individuals any LESS guilty, or deserving of exoneration. There is plenty of compelling evidence to prove Heirens was guilty, and the old-time cops who lived through those days have no doubt. Now that Governor George Ryan has left office it is a good bet that Heirens will remain incarcerated for many years to come, or as long as the surviving victims of the Degnan family step forward to mount a protest at parole board hearings. They have certainly earned the right to make their voices heard, and I hope they will continue to do so.
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Comments on that review:
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S. Alred says:
OBVIOUSLY, YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. THEY ONLY REASON MR HEIRENS HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED IS PURE POLITICS. NO ONE WANTS TO ADMIT THEY SCREWED UP AS BADLY AS TO INCARCERATE AN INNOCENT MAN FOR 63 YEARS. ANYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO STUDY THE FACTS OF THE CASE W/AN OPEN MIND WILL CLEARLY SEE THAT THIS WHAT HAPPENED TO MR HEIRENS IS A HUGE INJUSTICE.!!!! AS A MOTHER OF A 6 YEAR OLD AND A 4 YEAR OLD, I AM NOT INCLINED TO DEFEND ANY CHILD MURDERER. HOWEVER IN THIS CASE THE WRONG MAN WAS CONVICTED.
February 12, 2009 by bkzoner
Hello, and welcome to this forum.
I am one of an enormous number of people who believe that William (Bill) Heirens was wrongfully arrested, convicted and imprisoned. This forum is an extension of the website, Free William Heirens, located at: http://www.safeplacestylings.com/bh/williamheirens.html, which helps to explain the case against Mr. Heirens, and provides updates on the outcomes of his parole hearings.
Welcome are discussion and comments on any and all aspects of Mr. Heirens' case.
Anyone with ideas for this forum are encouraged to post them here.
Thank you for your visit, and for your participation if you have posted, or if you have voted at the poll.
Tania
February 12, 2009 by bkzoner
Given a fully studied facts of the case, should Mr. Heirens be granted parole?
