Wrongfully convicted Indiana man set free after 27 years behind bars
By Annie Kate
Click here for updates on this story
ELKHART, Indiana (WBND-LD) — After spending 27 years behind bars, a wrongfully convicted Elkhart man, Reginald “Reggie” Dillard, is finally free.
The 57-year-old is going back to his Elkhart home due to a judge’s order.
Dillard was arrested in 1999 for the 1998 shooting of Christopher Thomas in Elkhart, convicted in January of 2000, and sentenced to 65 years in prison, according to court documents.
“[Monday] morning, Reggie was exonerated and walked out of prison for the first time since back in 1999,” said Kevin Murphy, Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic staff attorney. “So, it’s been 27 years since he’s been wrongfully incarcerated. And yesterday, he was able to walk out, his head held high and reunite with his family members.”
The Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic took on Dillard’s case and filed for post-conviction relief in 2022.
On behalf of Dillard, they argued he was targeted by a rogue and racist group of Elkhart police officers dubbed “The Wolverines.” One former Elkhart detective is also accused of fabricating witness statements. They argued the police and prosecutor’s office withheld exculpatory evidence, including a police report, taken the day after Dillard’s conviction, that contained compelling information about alternate suspects.
“Rather than disclosing that as they should have immediately to Reggie’s attorneys, they just buried it,” Murphy said, “and that document sat in the Elkhart Police Department files for years and years.”
That last argument led the special prosecutor assigned to the case to agree that the state violated Dillard’s rights. Special Judge Christopher Spataro said that was enough to entitle Dillard to a new trial and granted the joint motion to vacate his conviction.
After Dillard was granted post-conviction relief, the State filed to dismiss the charges against Dillard, so prosecutors will not seek a new trial in this case, and he is officially exonerated, Murphy said.
“What we’ve seen in Elkhart is a pattern of the same sort of misconduct leading to wrongful convictions again and again,” Murphy said.
A second man, Eddie Frederick, was also convicted alongside Dillard in Thomas’s murder. Murphy told ABC57 that Frederick died in prison, an innocent man, several years ago.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.