An Illinois inmate who long proclaimed he did not commit a murder he was serving time for has died.
Anthony McKinney was serving a life prison sentence for the 1978 murder of a security guard when he died Wednesday at Dixon Correctional Center.
The 53-year-old McKinney's death was disclosed by the Center on Wrongful Convictions. His body was found in his locked cell. The cause of death hasn't been determined.
McKinney was 18 when he confessed to shooting and killing the security guard. He later said he confessed to stop Harvey police investigators from beating him.
Northwestern University School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions became involved with his case in 2008. The organization did so after Medill School of Journalism students turned up recanted testimony and new alibi witnesses.
The Medill Justice Project, founded at the university in 1999, came under scrutiny a few years ago after prosecutors alleged students made illegal, secret recordings of witnesses during their investigation into McKinney's case.
- Nov. 2009: NU Students Paid Off Witness, Prosecutors Say
- Jan: 2010: Journalism Heavyweights Move to Protect Students
- Oct. 2010: Attorney Withdraws as Journalism Professor's Counsel
- March 2011: NU's Protess Takes Leave of Absence
