Robert Veal will need to wait another month before a judge rules whether to clear his name.
The exoneration of Robert Veal, charged in the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in 1991, was delayed during a Friday hearing until Jan. 17.
Three of the five charged men, known as the Dixmoor Five, were exonerated earlier this month after DNA evidence linked another person to the crime. A few weeks later, the government moved to vacate their convictions for the remaining two men, Robert Veal and Shainne Sharp, according to a release from Veal's counsel.
The judge denied the government's motion for two of the men, though, saying it came too late under the particular provision and left open the possibility the court would still vacate the men's convictions using a different procedure.
Veal filed a petition for post-conviction relief on the grounds of actual innocence and ineffective assistance of counsel, according to the release.
