Anthony McKinney, 53, Inmate trying for decades to prove innocence dies in prison - Well, he is out now...in a sense....

An inmate who for decades had been trying to prove his innocence in a 1978 Harvey slaying has died in state prison while awaiting a hearing.

Attorneys at Northwestern University School of Law’s Center on Wrongful Convictions petitioned in 2008 for a new trial for Anthony McKinney, who they said confessed at age 18 to the shotgun slaying of a security guard after Harvey police beat him with pipes.

The case took a sharp detour in 2009 when the Cook County state’s attorney’s office issued a sweeping subpoena for student memos, emails and other class materials relevant to the investigation. The university balked at the demand but later concluded that Medill journalism professor David Protess had lied about what information was shared with McKinney’s attorneys and began turning documents over to the state.

McKinney’s death at 53 was announced today by Rob Warden, executive director of the wrongful conviction center. A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections confirmed his death Tuesday at the Dixon Correctional Center. He was found by himself unresponsive in his locked cell, the spokesman said. Foul play is not suspected. 

The Lee County coroner’s office said an autopsy was conducted today, but no official cause of death had been determined.

“The criminal justice system failed Anthony,” said McKinney’s lead attorney, Karen Daniel, who indicated McKinney might have been exonerated if not for delays in the legal process.