This is the story of the Coalition for Justice, a group of Latino and religious advocates, who came together to promote the innocence of two men they believed had been erroneously and repeatedly convicted of a terrible crime. In February of 1983, Jeanine Nicarico, a ten-year-old from the western suburbs of Chicago, was abducted from her home, raped, and murdered. A year later, Rolando Cruz, Alejandro "Alex" Hernandez and Stephen Buckley were indicted despite the lack of physical evidence against them. In February of 1985, jurors deadlocked on Buckley and sentenced the two Latinos to death. Months later, while confessing to two unrelated murders, a convicted sex offender by the name of Brian Dugan acknowledged killing Jeanine Nicarico. Notwithstanding Dugan's confession, Cruz and Hernandez spent more than ten years in prison before being released in November of 1995. However, it took more than a decade and a half for the DuPage County criminal justice system to acknowledge Dugan as a credible suspect. In 2009, he was finally tried, convicted and sentenced to death. But in 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill abolishing the death penalty and Dugan's sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
About the Author: After working as a journalist and community activist, Diana Eiranova-Kyle founded a volunteer organization of Latino and Interfaith leaders which successfully advocated for the exoneration of the two wrongfully convicted men who are the focus of this book. Ms. Eiranova Kyle wrote "Till Justice is Done" upon graduating from Columbia College in 2000 with a Masters in Journalism. As stated on the book's back cover by her friend and mentor and 2011 Winner of the Presidential Medal of Honor Dolores Huerta, "Diana Eiranova Kyle is our precious and mighty nonviolent warrior for justice who is largely responsible for the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois. 'Till Justice is Done' not only documents the Coalition's successful efforts to promote the innocence of Alejandro Hernandez and Rolando Cruz but will undoubtedly inspire others to take a stand against injustice." In addition to endorsing this book, Dolores Huerta got Ms. Eiranova-Kyle a grant to write and produce a 16 minute documentary film of the same name. "Till Justice is Done" premiered at an event where more than 250 people gathered to honor law enforcement individuals who lost their careers due to their opposition to the wrongful prosecutions of Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez. In 2006, Ms. Eiranova-Kyle wrote her first feature film script, "The Last Confession," based on her husband's life in the priesthood and on her research of the Roman Catholic Church's internal politics and business practices. "The Last Confession" won 3rd place in the 2009 Vision Fest Feature Screenwriting Competition in New York. Currently, Ms. Eiranova-Kyle is putting the finishing touches on a second screenwriting project, "DNA," which brings back the main characters from "The Last Confession" to help exonerate a man wrongfully accused of murder.