Degorski Gets Life
James Degorski's mugshot A pair of jurors held out and, after five hours of deliberation, the jury deciding James Degorski's fate came back with a sentence of life in prison. Degorski, convicted a few weeks ago for his role in the 1993 Brown's Chicken murders, could have faced the death penalty, which the prosecution was pushing for. In fact, according to the Sun-Times, 10 of the 12 jurors ultimately favored it but the two who voted against held firm, leading to the life sentence. Jury forewoman Cynthia Rathburn said deliberations were "a little heated and frustrating" and concluded, "It was like that until we realized we were not going to reach a unanimous decision...We reached a point where we agreed we were not going to agree."
Juan Luna, the other man convicted in the horrific crime which saw seven people murdered, was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said of the sentence, "The fact that these two men are convicted, that Jim Degorski has been held responsible, is justice."