Prince’s case went to trial in 1994. The state initially sought the death penalty, but he was convicted on August 24, 1994, and sentenced to 60 years in prison for murder and 25 concurrent years for armed robbery. Prince fought his conviction for several years, even without an attorney at times, the National Registry of Exonerations shows. In April 2017, a Cook County Circuit Court judge granted Prince’s petition he filed in 2014 for a new trial. Local prosecutors dismissed the charges the following month.
“This is a case that arose during the times, thinking, sentiments, customs and practices of the 1990s,” Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus Wilson said upon granting the petition. “Petitioner (Prince) was just 19 years old. There were no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting that testified at trial. No physical evidence connected (Prince) to the crime. No forensic evidence connects (Prince) to the crime. The only evidence against (Prince) was his confession.”
“This is a case that arose during the time, thought, sentiment, custom and practice of the 1990s,” Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus Wilson said in allowing the petition. “The petitioner (Prince) was only 19 years old. There were no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting to testify in court. No physical evidence related (Prince) to the crime. No forensic evidence connecting (Prince) to the crime. The only evidence against (Prince) was his confession.”
Police say they received a tip that Prince Edward killed Porter in August 1991 and that he was robbing drug dealers and their customers. The tipster told police Porter was on the west side of Chicago buying drugs when Prince tried to rob him. Porter refused to comply and Prince shot him, the caller said. However, a witness gave a description of the lone gunman who matched Javan Linson. Linson was close to the scene but was interrogated and released.
During his pre-trial hearing, Prince had asked a judge to withhold his confession. He testified that Kato stormed into his girlfriend’s house, pulled him out of bed at gunpoint and took him to the police station, where he beat the confession out of him. Kato said another man, Jeffrey Williams, confessed to giving him the murder weapon.
Kato denied the allegations during the pre-trial hearing. He said he brought Prince to the precinct as a witness and referred him to Williams. He twice left Prince at the station to look for Williams, and when he returned the second time, Prince confessed. The judge denied Prince and Williams’ request to quash their confessions. Court records show the defense never called Prince’s girlfriend to the witness stand.
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