ROCKFORD — For nearly 25 years, Patrick Pursley sat in prison for a murder he insisted he did not commit.
A Winnebago County jury convicted Pursley in 1994 of fatally shooting 22-year-old Andy Ascher during what prosecutors described as a botched robbery in Rockford. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The case appeared straightforward. Police had a suspect, a gun and testimony from a state firearms expert who told jurors the murder bullets and shell casings matched a Taurus 9mm pistol recovered from Pursley’s apartment…