The man serving life in prison without parole for the 1987 murder and rape of 10-year-old Amy Schulz has had another appeal denied seeking a third trial.
Cecil Sutherland claimed ineffective counsel for the guilty verdict against him in a second trial. An earlier appeal gave him a second trial when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled too much emphasis was placed on hair and fiber evidence tying Sutherland to the death.
Appeals since have centered on ineffective counsel from his attorneys.
The latest decision from the Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon last week said Sutherland failed to make a substantial showing of a constitutional violation regarding his ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
Sutherland initially received the death penalty for the murder and rape, but it was later changed to life in prison without parole by Governor Pat Quinn when he was emptying death row.
Schulz’s body was found lying in a field the night after she never came home after going for a bicycle ride.
Her death led to her parents’ founding of the Amy Schulz Center that still assists young people who are victims of sexual assault.
