Antonio Porter released from Cook County Jail, murder conviction overturned in connection to 2022 Chicago shooting at dice game
Antonio Porter says his release from custody, 23 years in the making, feels bittersweet.
Porter, let out on electronic monitoring on Tuesday, headed back home to his family. His murder conviction is overturned, for now, while he waits for a new trial.
Seconds after walking out of Cook County jail into the frigid cold, Porter was met with a warm hug by a loved one before being rushed away by his lawyer. His fight for freedom, he says, is still not over.
"It's the best feeling ever, but I'm still not free. I have an ankle bracelet on. I still have an ankle bracelet on. They still don't believe in my freedom, so I have to prove it. My lawyer's right here. I need to go," Porter said.
The 50-year-old was in prison since 2003, convicted in a deadly 2002 shooting of a man during a dice game. Porter has always maintained his innocence.
Porter filed a motion in 2023 to have his murder conviction tossed out, in part, due to a Chicago police officer's testimony during his trial.
A judge, last week, vacated Porter's murder conviction and ordered a new trial, finding the officer's history of alleged misconduct "undermines the confidence of the earlier verdict rendered in Mr. Porter's original trial."
In a statement to ABC7, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office says it is "carefully evaluating the court's ruling, along with the facts and circumstances of this case."
Porter's mother, Rosemary Cade, spoke after her son's bond hearing on Monday.
"We have to keep fighting. They keep putting our loved ones in prison for something they did not even do, and that's wrong!" she said.
In the meantime, Porter's attorney says he believes prosecutors do not have the evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that his client committed the murder.
