Robert Crimo, III, presently under arrest for the killings in Highland Park on July 4th, has pled not guilty to all charges. Maher Kawash reports at ABC 7 Chicago:
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) — On Wednesday morning, the accused gunman in the Highland Park parade tragedy entered a not guilty plea on all counts.
Robert Crimo III, 21, had been indicted on 117 counts after he allegedly killed seven people and wounded at least 30 others.
Investigators have said Crimo planned the attack for weeks, maybe even months.
He is reported to have confessed to to the offenses previously. It will be interesting to see what sort of defense his attorneys mount. The only strategy I can see at this point is to deny everything and impel the prosecution to prove everything beyond reasonable doubt which, in the absence of actual eyewitnesses, may be harder than meets the eye. Maybe they’re hoping for some sort of deal to avoid a multi-million dollar months-long trial.
Temporary insanity?
Maybe the plan is to leave the possibility of changing the plea to not guilty by reason of insanity at a later date. The trial isn’t on the docket yet so there’s plenty of time. I don’t believe they can go in the opposite direction (change a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to not guilty).
From here, reads like a standard legal practice when served an indictment. Have to maintain the hmm fiction he is innocent until proven guilty.
Out of curiosity, does Illinois have a cap on court appointed attorney’s fees?
I think it’s $125/hour no cap.