Teenage murder confession questioned

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CHICAGO, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The case of a man who confessed to murder when records indicate he was in a Chicago police lockup will be reviewed by an integrity unit, a spokeswoman said.

Sally Daly, speaking on behalf of the Cook County state's attorney's office, told the Chicago Tribune prosecutors would view a new trial petition on behalf of Daniel Taylor "with an open mind."

Taylor, 37, was a teenager when he and seven other young men confessed to a double murder on Chicago's North Side.

Twenty years later mounting evidence indicates Taylor was in a Chicago police lockup at the time the murders were committed.

"The evidence that prosecutors typically rely on -- police officer statements, police reports, records -- demonstrate that Daniel couldn't have committed the murders," said Karen Daniel, an attorney at Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions.

Prosecutors, opposing an appeal in the case, suggested records showing Taylor was in jail are somehow wrong.

Taylor's petition for a new trial includes additional evidence and asserts police notes buttressing his claim of being in jail at the time of the murders were not turned over to the defense.