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Judge vacates Chicago man's murder conviction
Hilton Keller was convicted at 18 for the May 1991 armed robbery and murder of Ollie Jones but has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming that critical evidence was withheld and a gang leader may have framed him.
CHICAGO - Just two days before Christmas, Hilton Keller, a Chicago man who has served more than three decades behind bars is being released after a wrongful conviction ruling.
On Monday, a Cook County Circuit Court judge vacated his murder conviction after determining that Keller was not given a fair trial in the nineties.
Keller, now 52, has been serving a lengthy sentence for the May 1991 armed robbery and murder of Ollie Jones, the owner of a music and game store near 69th and Damen.
It’s a crime Keller maintains he did not commit.
"It’s terrible. He went in at 18, into an environment that is filled with many actual murderers and rapists, and he was raised in a prison environment," said Stuart Chanen, Founder & Partner with Chanen and Olstein, LLP.
For most of his life, Keller has been fighting for his freedom.
"Me within my heart, I knew he didn’t do it," said Gertrude Barber, Keller’s aunt.
Keller’s loved ones, on Monday, waited patiently for more than nine hours outside the Cook County Jail ahead of his impending release.
"He lost his mom, and he lost 33 years to his life, so we’re going to do everything we can to help him stay on the good road, and do what he got to do," said Barber.
At 18 years old—in May of 1991—Keller was accused in Jones’ murder.
"By the time the case got to trial, the man who said Hilton had confessed to him completely recanted his testimony, and said, ‘I made all that stuff up, I gave it under a fake name, a fake birthdate, everything. The head of my gang put me up to it,’" said Chanen.
Chanen, who is Keller’s post-conviction attorney, says he believes Keller was framed by a gang leader.
Still, Keller was convicted after a trial in April of 1992, and he has been serving a 70-year sentence ever since.
Most of his time behind bars was spent in the Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon, Ill., before being moved to the Cook County Jail in October.
Keller has always maintained his innocence.
"He was targeted by a gang leader, who we believe was involved in the murder, and that gang leader wanted to put the murder onto somebody else," said Chanen. "There was plenty of evidence that this was a concocted case, and had the police or the State's Attorney been paying really close attention to what was going on here, they would've seen that [Leonard] Dawson was taking this case off of himself and onto Hilton."
While imprisoned in 2019, Chanen shares that Keller received a phone call from a key witness in his trial who admitted to lying on the stand.
Keller filed a post-conviction petition, but it took years for his case to be heard, according to Chanen.
Then, in March of 2024, while Keller’s mother was nearing the end of her days, Keller was released from prison under a shortened sentence with the help from a court-appointed public defender; however, Chanen says Keller did not realize this wouldn’t also vacate his murder conviction. Keller hoped to visit his ailing mom in Texas, but did not make it before her death, as he was on parole—terms that Chanen says were not originally explained to Keller.
Keller hired Chanen after his mother’s death and the previous deal was voided; as a result, Keller was put back behind bars in October while a new petition was filed.
Chanen says critical evidence was never disclosed to Keller's original public defenders when he stood trial—ultimately leading to his conviction being vacated and Keller finally leaving jail as a free man this week.
"It’s always amazing to me that people have the resilience that they have," Chanen said. "First when he realized that she was vacating his conviction, he was over the moon, and then when he realized he would get out today, he got even more excited."
Keller’s family shares that they are going to celebrate big for Christmas and the New Year—making up for lost time by enjoying the big things and all the little ones, too.
"He’s excited about little things like going to the movies, trying different foods, just having him in my arms," said Iesha, Keller’s fiancée.
Following his release, the Cook County State’s Attorney will have 30 days to decide whether Keller will be re-tried.
"This will be very difficult because all of the witnesses have either recanted their testimony, or they’ve passed away," said Chanen.
Keller is expected to be released Monday night. As of 10:15 p.m., he was still being processed.
To date, he has served 33 years, 7 months, and 4 days in prison.
While Keller’s release marks a significant step, his legal team plans to continue working toward his innocence. Chanen shares that he will be filing a petition for a Certificate of Innocence in the New Year.