A man who exhausted 27 years in pri...

A man who exhausted 27 years in prison for a assassination conviction before a DNA trial freed him sought $60 million to right the unsuitable

moreover Michael Evans will not behold a dime from the Chicago cop he su a nine-person jury rul Tuesday.

After deliberating for just more than single day, jurors rejected all claims that Evans brought against 10 Chicago police officers.

Evans, 47 accused Area 2 officers of falsifying evidence, coaching witnesses and failing to disclose favorable evidence in the 1976 rape and assassination of 9-year-old Lisa Cabassa.

"I'm not surprised. I always idea it was a case of pious police work," said Andrew Hale, the lawyer representing the 10 officers Evans su "I think it just goe to exhibit to that a jury will listen to evidence and listen to the one and the other sides."

Hale argueed that Evans could still have been involved in Cabassa's disappearance on a level if DNA cleared him of the rape.

single of Evans' lawyers, Jon Loevy said his client exhausted nearly three decades in a "living hell" for a crime he didn't commit.

"The jury did not hear that eight of these police officers took the Fifth the first time they were asked about this investigation," Loevy said. "We're going to appeal. We look forward to that at the end of the day when all of the evidence is heard, we will prevail."

Evans apply the minded deflated after the verdict and said nothing as Loevy lay a consoling arm on his shoulder. onward the first day of the four- week trial, Evans gave tearful testimony, growing in the way that emotional the judge stopped proceedings for the day.

$160000 for 27 years

Locke Bowman, a civil rights lawyer also upon the case, called the result a "miscarriage of justice."

Illinois has paid Evans about $160000 the greatest in quantity allowable under a state cap.

Loevy had attacked the testimony of lead witness Judy Januczewski, saying her story varied. He accused cop of coaching her and conspiring to accuse Evans to quickly explain a heater case.

yet Hale said even as Januczewski's memory was fuzzy she remained consistent forward one detail: she saw Evans with Cabassa the night the young girl disappeared. That was enough probable cause for the police to arrest Evans, he said.

The jurors -- four women and five men including sum of two units African Americans -- refused to observation as they left the courthouse. in succession Monday, jurors indicated in a note they had reached an impasse forward the first claim, a becoming process violation. The vote was 8-1 with single juror saying he would not change his mind, they said. at Tuesday, jurors returned a unanimous verdict.

Evans was released from prison in 2003 after a lab standard found that semen on Cabassa's corpse did not match Evans' DNA or that of his co-defendant, Paul Terry The sum of two units men were pardoned, and Terry has a state lawsuit pending.

Flint Taylor, a civil rights lawyer involved in lawsuits filed by way of pardoned Death Row inmates, said he doesn't think the Evans verdict will affect negotiations in those cases. They involve claims of police torture in subordination to notorious police Cmdr. Jon Burge he said. In the Evans case: "Burge was the name that shall not be spoken" Taylor said. Burge was at the pageant the night of the assassinate but was not an Area 2 commander or su in the case.

nkorecki@suntimes.com

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