Politics and Money
and the Hamm/Lagrone Trials

I was angry to the point of action when Amanda Hamm (my friend) and Maurice Lagrone were first indicted in December 2003. The prosecution announced their intention to pursue the death penalty and I did not understand why.

They decided to pursue the death penalty, then changed their minds after only a month and decided not to. But, they changed their minds again.. just after very public concerns were raised about the cost of the trial. In Illinois, murder trials (life in prison) are paid for by the county and capital cases are paid for by the Capital Litigation Trust Fund.

I first began documenting what I saw as a film project, the work has become a blog and is now propelling me into activism. I testified for the defense at Amanda's trial. I had a video interview of the prosecution's witnesses contradicting her testimony. Most recently I attended the Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee public form and gave testimony on why I believe the Hamm and Lagrone trials were death penalty trials (for the better part of the pre-trial activity) in order to have the State of Illinois pay for the trials through the Capital Litigation Trust Fund. Below is the detail of evidence to support this assertion:

September 2, 2003- CNN.com- Amanda Hamm and then-boyfriend Maurice LaGrone Jr. were at Lake Clinton when her car sank off a boat ramp and her three children drowned.

December 9, 2003- Amanda was arrested in Bloomington, IL and Maurice was arrested in St. Louis, MO.

December 10, 2003- Bloomington Pantagraph- Amanda and Maurice were arraigned on 9 counts of murder (each) and bail was set at five million dollars each. Prosecutors announce their intent to seek the death penalty.

December 11, 2003- Grand Jury convenes and issues indictment.

December 13, 2003- Bloomington Pantagraph- 2 Central Illinois lawmakers called Friday for a repeal of the moratorium on the death penalty in connection with the Sept. 2 drowning deaths of 3 DeWitt County children. In a letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, state Rep. Bill Mitchell and state Sen. Bill Brady said they believe the children's mother, Amanda Hamm, and her former boyfriend, Maurice Lagrone Jr., should receive the ultimate punishment if convicted of murder. "I represent the people of Clinton who are mourning the tragic murder of 3 young children," said Mitchell, R-Forsyth. "At the present time, if those accused of this monstrous crime are found to be guilty, the most severe punishment they could receive is life in prison."

December 13, 2003- Ann Powers (Amanda Hamm’s mother and grandmother of the three deceased children) declares publicly that she does not want her daughter executed.

January 23, 2004- Associated Press "In both cases there is an intention to decline to seek the death penalty," said prosecutor Roger Simpson. He declined to discuss the reason for his decision, but a news release issued Monday by DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey indicated that last year's emptying of Death Row by former Gov. George Ryan may have played a role in the decision.
"Although this case certainly qualifies for the death penalty, recent trends in Illinois and the particular facts of this case would seem to indicate that imposition and execution of that sentence would be a remote possibility," the news release said. The decision was reached by prosecutors, investigators and relatives of the children, the news release said.
The decision also throws the appointments of Hamm's and Lagrone's attorneys into question. Circuit Judge Stephen Peters appointed two attorneys for each because of the death penalty possibility, with their fees and expenses paid by the state's Capital Litigation Fund.Now, Justice (Lagrone’s attorney) said, DeWitt County will have to bear the costs and the judge might decide that capital litigation attorneys are no longer necessary.

March 18, 2004- Dewitt County Board Minutes- County board discusses trial fees and intent to scrutinize bills

March 19, 2004- Dewitt County board member, Chris Riddle is quoted in the Decatur Herald saying "we can't afford to pay for this stupid trial."

April 5, 2004- County given April 30th deadline to pay legal defense bills by Judge, Stephen Peters.

April 15, 2004- Mitchell introduces legislation aimed at relieving the county of financial burden of the trial and Skelton issues statement that Hamm can’t get a fair trial in Dewitt county (news reports April 16)

April 17, 2004- Prosecution enters intent to pursue death penalty again.

April 22, 2004- County board discusses money transfers and move to pay attorney bills

February 8, 2005- Local news media petitions to open hearings and unseal documents. To this point most of the pre-trial proceedings have been closed.

February, 2005 – Judge Peters (Dewitt County) decision to ban media from pretrial hearings overturned by the Illinois Supreme Appeals Court. Peters’ response is to delay all pretrial decisions until jury is selected.

April 12, , 2006- AP - A man convicted of killing his former girlfriend’s three children by letting them drown as their car rolled into a lake was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.
A judge issued the sentence immediately after the jury decided to find Maurice LaGrone Jr. ineligible for the death sentence sought by prosecutors. Two jurors later said prosecutors failed to prove that LaGrone had intended the children to die.

May 5, 2006- Court TV- Prosecutors said Thursday they won't seek the death penalty for a woman charged with murder in the deaths of her three children, who drowned when their car rolled into a lake. Amanda Hamm is scheduled to stand trial later this year. Her former boyfriend and co-defendant in the case, Maurice LaGrone Jr., was convicted last month. After LaGrone was found to be ineligible for the death sentence — jurors said prosecutors failed to prove that LaGrone had intended for the children to die — prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty for Hamm.

February 1, 2007- Bloomington Pantagraph- Amanda Hamm convicted of Child Endangerment and sentenced to ten years.

December, 2006- Bloomington Pantagraph- The cost of the Hamm and LaGrone trials drew criticism from the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. “It is now crystal clear that neither case against Maurice LaGrone Jr. or Amanda Hamm warranted the death penalty. It is also clear that taxpayer dollars were squandered in seeking the death penalty in what were not capital cases."

January 11, 2007- Bloomington Pantagraph- Another death penalty trial is pending in Dewitt County.

January 25, 2007

Dear Judge Peters,

I am writing to you today on behalf of my friend, Amanda Hamm. I met Amanda when she was a child around the time Mark Walston adopted her and we have remained friends. As you are well aware, people have not always been kind to Amanda. I have gone out of my way to show her kindness and she has in turn always given me respect. Unfortunately, Amanda was born into less than ideal circumstances and with only a few exceptions, difficult circumstances have continued throughout her life.
The only time I have known Amanda to appear competent, even happy, was in her role as a mother. I saw Amanda confident, capable, mature and loving with her children. These were characteristics she did not have prior to motherhood. For the first time in her life, she was good at something… very good.
In fact, I was so impressed with Amanda that I asked her to babysit my own children on a few occasions when I came to visit Clinton for family functions or my class reunion. She treated my daughter as she did her own children with patience, excellent communication, appropriate discipline and above all love. My daughter loved playing with Amanda’s son Christopher.
I understand that Amanda did not always make good choices for herself or her children. She had many demons, but most were internalized demons that led her to look for love and what she perceived as safety.
My mother and I attended the funeral for her children. I hope to never see anything like that again in my life. I understand the anger directed at Amanda from this terrible tragedy, but I fail to see how inappropriate punishment will help anyone heal. If there is a "greatest loss" in this it would be the loss from which Amanda is suffering. She lost her children, the only thing in her life that ever went right she lost almost every friend she ever had, she lost her freedom and came very close to losing her life… three times; once from the accident, the second when she was suicidal and the third when the judicial system threatened to execute her. If that weren’t enough, she hasn’t even been able to begin the process of mourning the loss of her children. Her internal prison is indeed hell. She is only able to speak briefly with Pastor Farrell once a week and then Mr. Skelton sporadically. Amanda and I speak on the phone about once a week and I tell her that my only wish for her is that she be able to cry.
But, that isn’t true. Judge Peters, I wish that Amanda be granted the shortest, most appropriate sentence you might give. Amanda often speaks of how "fair" you have been to her and I agree.
Respectfully,

Kari L. Sommers

Clinton, Illinois has been feeding at the trough of anger and vengeance. Everyone impacted by the case of Amanda Hamm and Maurice Lagrone, Jr. seems to be doing just that... including me. I think that I've put on weight.

I've tried for three years now to imagine what the families might be feeling, but of course I can't, nobody can. What I do know is that with any loss of this magnitude comes unimaginable anger, regardless of the circumstances. In this situation, where the loss is that of the lives of small children, coupled with difficult family relationships and the perception that Maurice was a "bad guy" to begin with... it is all the more challenging. People are angry. And they have a right to be angry.

But who are we all so angry with?

From what I can tell, the initial reaction of the town was mixed immediately following the deaths of the children. I heard from many that Amanda was such a good mother, she loved her children so much… this was a terrible accident. But it didn’t take long for the anger to come… and the bias. The sheriff gave interviews to the press, proclaiming, "We don’t know if this is a Susan Smith-style case or not."

There it was… the seed of doubt!. And he said it on national television…it must be true!

That doubt really started the night of the tragedy, at the Clinton hospital in the middle of the chaos and craziness. This is a small-town hospital with a single elevator that goes to floors 1 and 2R. There were the all-white fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of three small children. Every emergency worker, police, detectives, sheriff’s department… most of the town… and the rumors started.

"They were dry." Well, they weren’t dry… never were. My friend Bob Walston took Maurice to get dry clothes.
"Maurice was holding Amanda back and kept her from saving the children." Well, yes… He held her once the paramedics arrived so that she wouldn’t get in their way.
"They didn’t try to save the children." This is the big one… for all of the "I would have died trying" people out there… it turns out (and was entered into evidence during the trial) that the owner’s manual for Amanda’s car states that when the car is in reverse, the doors automatically lock. That is what happened. The car was in reverse and the doors were locked. From what I understand, both Amanda and Maurice tried to get the doors open… but couldn’t. And, they did what any one of us SHOULD do… they called for help when they couldn’t do it themselves. But remember the car was in the water and the electric locking system unlocked itself… so there is the problem. The paramedics found the doors open. From what I understand, the locks continued opening and closing on their own… scaring the lone mechanic who worked on the car that night at the request of the sheriff.


And then there is that darned "race card," as so many posters on the Bloomington Pantagraph web comments page like to reference.

I know that from the day of this tragedy until the start of Maurice’s trial, there was not ONE African American involved anywhere. Not one African American at the hospital, at any of the pre-trial hearings, not on the prosecution, the defense, the media… not anywhere! Maurice has been alone in this. And the white sheriff sat in the jury box, right behind Maurice, at most of the Dewitt County pre-trial hearings. Clearly, this is the role he sees himself in. I don’t know nearly enough about racism in America… but I’m pretty sure that the "absence" of African Americans colored the outcome of Maurice’s verdict. How could it NOT? It is absolutely clear to me that the civil rights movement did not happen in towns like Clinton… there was nobody there to have a "movement" for. What I do know is the perception. If you ask around Clinton about nearby towns like Decatur (if you are a white person), you will be told that, "It’s dark over there in Decatur… if you know what I mean."

But I suppose you can see the ripples going out for a long time when you throw a rock into a small lake… like Clinton Lake. Throw a rock into Lake Michigan… you might not see even one ripple… it’s all lost… there is just too much water.

I’ve placed my anger squarely on the shoulders of a faulty judicial system supported by ignorance and arrogance. If only the sheriff, the special prosecutor (both politicians!) and state police had pursued an appropriate sentence right from the beginning. If they had charged Amanda and Maurice with child endangerment in December, 2003… the families and friends of those beautiful children might be moving on with their lives. They would have had the opportunity to mourn, to grieve, to experience the overwhelming sadness they all deserve to have… but without so much anger.

I suppose the real problem is that "accidents" aren’t news stories… they don’t SELL newspapers the way murders do. And "accidents" don’t make political careers. Early on someone said to me, "A situation like this comes around once in a politician’s lifetime." By the way, the sheriff was just re-elected.

"Hang the N-----!” These are the words shouted as the young, blonde television reporter announces that the jury has reached a guilty verdict for Maurice Lagrone, Jr. It is a night like most at Snappers Bar and Grill in Clinton, IL., beer drinking buddies, farmers and laborers watching the 5:00 pm news. Not an African American in the joint. If you were to ask, you would be told that most can't remember or don't know if an African American has ever been in Snappers. And when those words ring in the air, no one bats an eye. No one stands up or jumps onto the bar to renounce the appalling words. They all agree. The n----- should hang. He deserves to die.

As for the pretty, blonde reporter, many central Illinois reporters are just that. Smart, attractive young women hoping to break out of the smaller market into a bigger one. Hoping that this case might be the one to get them the attention they need to move up and out of central Illinois. The "Rogers" in this case pay close attention to these reporters. Special Prosecutor Roger Simpson and Dewitt County sheriff Roger Massey wink at some of them openly in court and smile with their aging, cocky grins. With these grins come leaks of information through secret phone calls, telling the preferred reporters “nothing is going to happen in court today, so don’t waste your time driving over.” In Clinton, this is nothing new. Neither is the tragedy of the three children who drowned in Clinton Lake in September of 2003. This incident, like everything else in the small town, has become old news.

No one can ever know what happened that night besides Amanda and Maurice. I suspect that, as time has passed, they have forgotten the truth; they have buried it in the recesses of their minds. Their perceptions have shifted, their stories have changed, certain lives have been lost. This is what happens in tragedies. After three years of studying this case, I still don’t know what happened. The prosecutors, the defense, the detectives, the jury… None of them can lend a hand in helping us to KNOW what really occurred. I can certainly tell you what I believe, but that is all any of us have. Our beliefs in a world where the truth is often relative.

This case is not about guilt or innocence in the simplest form. The accused are guilty of something. Three small children don't just perish in the presence of two able-bodied adults. But the question is guilty of what? Pre-meditated, intentional homicide, or negligence and unintentional homicide? Should our system punish them by putting them to death when we can never KNOW what took place? Should someone be prosecuted and potentially executed because a small county cannot afford the cost of a trial? This case was paid for by the State of Illinois Special Litigation Fund because the county couldn't afford a "life in prison" trial. So they decided to gamble with another life. Yet, isn't that exactly what Maurice and Amanda are accused of?