A man seeking a certificate of innocence for a reversed 1999 murder conviction is now detained on new charges after prosecutors said he robbed and threatened to shoot a woman during a confrontation involving his girlfriend, an on-duty CTA bus driver.
Frank Burrell, 50, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and sentenced to 32 years in prison for the 1999 shooting of 29-year-old Renee Battle in Hyde Park. Battle was riding in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s SUV when another driver pulled alongside, rolled down his window, and opened fire, killing Battle.
Battle’s boyfriend initially told police he did not recognize the shooter, but later identified Burrell. According to a contemporaneous Chicago police report, CPD detectives claimed Burrell’s mother saw a wanted poster and recognized him and two of his friends as the men sought in connection with the shooting. Burrell’s trial attorney called no witnesses, but his current attorneys say family members were ready to testify that he was home during the shooting…