Springfield, Il. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The Director of Investigations with Investigating Innocence, Bill Clutter, held a press conference Friday morning regarding the release of imprisoned man, Thomas McMillan.

Over 30 years ago, Thomas McMillan was found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Melisa Koontz. But according to Investigating Innocence, his conviction rested on the testimonies of witnesses that should have been deemed incompetent due to intellectual disabilities and alcohol abuse.

Clutter claims there were other witnesses that were never called to testify, and that their testimonies would have contradicted what was said by the witnesses that were called to testify.

The work Clutter and Investigating Innocence have done toward freeing McMillan started in 2018, at the end of Gov. Rauner’s term.

Now, he’s asking Gov. Pritzker to step up and “do the right thing.”

“The least he can do,” Clutter said, talking about Gov. Pritzker, “is refer this back to the Inspector General.”

Investigating Innocence is a not-for-profit organization that provides investigative support to claims of innocence post-conviction.

For full details on the McMillan case, you can visit Thomas McMillan’s case page on the Investigating Innocence website.