Nathaniel Onsrud has been exonerated, 19 years after his wrongful conviction in the death of his son.
According to the Illinois Innocence Project, which worked on his case, the Rock Island County Circuit Court this week ruled prosecutors could not try him again.
Onsrud, now 39, was released from prison six years ago. The Coal Valley man spent 13 years in prison.
"Nate's exoneration marks the end of this 19-year nightmare that began when he was 20 and wrongfully convicted of murder following the tragic death of his 4-month-old son. Nate’s son had been born 10 weeks premature and had significant health issues. His death was, in fact, the result of medical complications," the IIP stated.
The group based at the University of Illinois Springfield said initial medical examinations did not reveal foul play. "The forensic pathologist brought in to consult on the case was reluctant to determine the death was a homicide. After investigators focused on Nate, they held multiple meetings with the pathologist that resulted in a new (yet erroneous) theory that brain bleeds purportedly found during autopsy indicated Nate had caused his son’s death," it said.
"Nate, who was still grieving the death of his son, was subjected to interrogations and finally, after continual questioning, made ambiguous statements that investigators labeled a “confession.” The videotaped interrogations, however, reveal Nate never actually confessed; rather, he passively acquiesced to the interrogators’ theories and questions."
The IIP said a public defender advised Onsrud to plead guilty. He later tried to withdraw his plea, but that was denied and he was given a 60 year sentence.
When the IIP and pro bono attorneys from the Oppenheimer Firm sought additional documents from the prosecutor’s file, the Rock Island County State’s Attorney discovered materials supporting Onsrud's innocence. These exculpatory materials had never been disclosed by the trial prosecutor.
In June 2020, he was released.
“It is hard to put into words the suffering that is at the heart of this case,” IIP Legal Director Lauren Kaeseberg said. “Nate was a young father who lost his infant son. Instead of being able to grieve this horrible tragedy he found himself wrongfully accused of murder. For 19 years he was labeled a monster and for 13 years he suffered behind bars. Nothing can ever heal those wounds but we are so glad Nate can finally move forward – exonerated – and without the constant threat of unfair prosecution.”
Since his release, multiple doctors have examined the death of his son and found the brain bleeds could not have been responsible for his death. Instead, these experts determined Nate’s son died naturally from a respiratory infection or disease," the IIP said. Despite these expert findings, the State sought to re-prosecute on criminal charges, asserting his son had died from brain bleeding caused by blunt force trauma.
“A growing number of wrongful convictions are being discovered in cases involving complex medical issues – specifically regarding children – where an accidental fall or underlying illness was instead treated as a homicide,” IIP Staff Attorney Brandon Klages said. “All too often, we are seeing initial investigations that rushed to a diagnosis, overlooked contrary medical science or excessively relied on unsupported medical theories.
“Our criminal legal system is increasingly recognizing that certain scientific theories, which were previously thought to be irrefutable, are flawed, extremely unreliable and, in some cases, outright false. These theories have likely led to the wrongful conviction of hundreds if not thousands of parents and caretakers, which – horrifyingly – we are only beginning to unearth.”
False confessions have played a role in the wrongful conviction of 157 individuals in Illinois – 25 percent of the state’s 618 exonerations to date, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
"In addition, there is now an increased understanding that innocent people do plead guilty to crimes they did not commit. Nate is one of at least 232 innocent Illinoisans who pled guilty and were later found to be innocent and exonerate," the IIP said.
The Illinois Innocence Project also said it has brought freedom to 34 innocent men and women in Illinois.
