Elizabeth Tolbert
Elizabeth Tolbert, also known as Liz Tolbert, born in Los Angeles, California, was convicted in the shooting and death of her husband Wilson D. "Junior" Tolbert in Hardin County, Illinois in January 1998. She is currently serving her 60-year sentence at the Lincoln Correctional Facility in Lincoln, Illinois.[1] The story surrounding her life in Elizabethtown, Illinois, the murder of her husband, and her claims of innocence were the subject of several talk shows, including Sally Jessy Raphael and The Leeza Gibbons Show in 1997. Tolbert is widely known for her work training service dogs while at Dwight Correctional Center.[2]
The crime, the trial, and conviction
On May 24, 1995, after becoming concerned that her husband Wilson "Junior" Tolbert had not returned home for supper after working at the family farm, Tolbert placed her two young sons in her Blazer and went to look for him. She subsequently found him lying beside his pickup truck, claiming that her brother, James Sanford, and his girlfriend, Chris Olvedia Reed, had "set her up" and shot him.
On her way to get help, Tolbert saw James and Chris and confronted them about the shooting, which they both denied. Tolbert drove off to get help, unaware that James and Chris returned and one of them shot Junior. Tolbert initially pleaded guilty and received a 45-year sentence for conspiracy in Junior's death. She had maintained that much of the small, rural population of Hardin County, Illinois, and specifically Elizabethtown, were prejudiced against her. Unsuccessful in her change of venue request, Liz had no choice but to accept the 45-year sentence offered by the then State's Attorney Paul Lamar (now the Hardin County Circuit Judge); otherwise, she faced a life sentence.
Approximately 18 months later, Tolbert's request to withdraw her guilty plea was granted because she had received incorrect information from her attorneys. She was subsequently tried in a changed venue in Mount Vernon, Illinois, and convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Claims of innocence and post-conviction proceedings
In 2008, Tolbert asked Pittsburgh-based freelance journalist Steve Pope to investigate her case. She had previously sought help from about 25 attorneys, even paying for information to be sent to them from money she earned while working in the prison industries program. All to no avail. After extensive correspondence and conversations with Tolbert, Steve Pope agreed to investigate her claims of innocence.
The results of Steve Pope's investigation led to the publication of a story about Tolbert's claims of innocence and his investigation.[3]
References
- ↑ http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/facilities/information.asp?instchoice=line
- ↑ Turning Rough Lives Around; Prison Program Boosts Inmates' Self-Esteem While They Train Dogs to Help People With Disabilities." Chicago Tribune, November 22, 2000
- ↑ http://publish.indymedia.org/en/2009/03/922506.shtml
External links
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