
- Posted July 17, 2025
At 9:30 p.m. on January 22, 1984, Jerry Western was found with a single gunshot wound to the back…
There is murder within today’s case, but it’s not the main focus of the story. This is a tale of a judge and his son, his friends and colleagues, and the many missteps made in St. Clair County. Many of which would see a man undergo three separate trials in two decades for one crime. There isn’t a question as to whether a crime was committed or not but rather questions about possible motives (and motivators), with several actors having gone on to receive positions of power in the county’s legal system.