Factual background: On February 25, 1983, a 10-year-old girl was kidnapped from her home, raped, and bludgeoned to death. Her body was found several days later in a wooded area. An autopsy showed she had died from several blows to the head, and her body evidenced a broken nose, postmortem scratches, and sexual assault. Two weeks later an anonymous tip led sheriff's detectives to Hernandez. He allegedly made statements that he knew the men involved in the crime but that he was not one of the perpetrators. On the basis of his statements, Hernandez was arrested on March 6, 1984.

Several days later, the detectives spoke with Cruz, who was an acquaintance of Hernandez. Cruz allegedly reported "visions" to the police-visions whose details were similar to those associated with the crime. Cruz was indicted on March 9, 1984, on the basis of those statements.

In 1985, in a DuPage County Circuit Court, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez were jointly tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for kidnapping, rape, and murder. A jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third codefendant.

Prosecutor's evidence at trial: The prosecution based its case on several points:

· Several law enforcement officers testified that Cruz and Hernandez made incriminating statements.

· Several witnesses testified that Cruz and Hernandez admitted to having intimate knowledge of the crime.

· Cruz's alleged "dream visions" of the murder, though not tape recorded, were admitted into evidence on the basis of the testimony of sheriff's detectives.

· The alibi defenses of the two men were not aggressively pursued.

· The Hernandez defense also contended that any inculpatory statements by him against others were made to collect a $10,000 reward.

Postconviction challenges: After an appeal by Cruz, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Cruz was "denied a fair trial by reason of introduction of admissions of codefendants" (521 N.E.2d 18). The court ruled on January 19, 1988, that the three men should have been tried separately when it was clear that the prosecution was going to use inculpatory statements by defendants as evidence against one another. The case was reversed and remanded to the DuPage Circuit Court. The Illinois Supreme Court essentially made the same ruling on Hernandez's appeal (521 N.E.2d 25) on January 19, 1988.

Cruz was again convicted by a jury in a DuPage County Circuit Court, and he appealed. The Illinois Supreme Court initially affirmed the circuit court's decision, but, in view of many amicus curiae briefs, the court agreed to look at Cruz's conviction again. This time, on July 14, 1994, the court reversed the decision of the circuit court (643 N.E.2d 636). The reversal was largely based on statements made by another man, Brian Dugan, a convicted rapist-murderer, who claimed to have committed the crime alone. Dugan's confession was made through hypothetical statements during a plea bargain for other crimes, so the confession could not be used against him.

Hernandez's second conviction, in a separate appeal, was also reversed and remanded. He was convicted a third time by a jury, and this conviction, too, was overturned.

DNA results: In September 1995 DNA tests showed that neither Cruz nor Hernandez were the contributors of the semen found at the crime scene. Tests also determined that Brian Dugan could not be eliminated as a potential contributor. Prosecutors contended that the DNA evidence showed only that Cruz and Hernandez were not the rapists, but they could still have been present at the crime. Cruz's new defense team decided on a bench trial. Hernandez awaited a fourth jury trial.