People v. Drew

CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 28, 2026
Docket1-25-1647
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Drew (People v. Drew) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Drew, (Ill. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

2026 IL App (1st) 251647 No. 1-25-1647 Opinion filed May 28, 2026 Fourth Division

______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of ) Cook County v. ) ) No. 98 CR 07558 FRANK DREW, ) Defendant-Appellant. ) Honorable ) Anjana Hansen, ) Judge Presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE NAVARRO delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Ocasio and Quish concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Ocasio also specially concurred, with opinion.

OPINION

¶1 The parties in this case presented a question to the circuit court, which was then certified

for interlocutory review pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308 (eff. Oct. 1, 2019). The

question presented was:

“Whether the Circuit Court must grant a certificate of innocence—or has no

discretion to deny a certificate of innocence—in circumstances where a petitioner

obtained relief on an actual innocence claim following an evidentiary hearing No. 1-25-1647

pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, and the State subsequently dismissed

all charges.”

¶2 For the reasons explained below, we modify the question and answer the certified question,

as modified, in the affirmative.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 Petitioner Frank Drew was convicted in 1998 by a jury of the 1996 murder of Ronald

Walker and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

¶5 At a pretrial suppression hearing, Drew, who was 18 years old at the time of his arrest,

testified that the detectives who questioned him struck him during his first interview while he was

handcuffed to a wall. Drew testified that during a second interview he was not allowed to call his

mom, was slapped, and was struck in the ribs. He was beaten for over 30 minutes, after which

Drew agreed to give a statement. Drew then was allowed to call his mom, who told him not to sign

his statement. When Drew told the detectives that he was not going to sign the statement, he was

taken to a different room, where a detective put his hands around Drew’s throat and told him if he

thought what happened last time was bad, he had better sign the statement. Drew then signed the

statement.

¶6 Drew testified that the next day he was taken to the courthouse for a bond hearing and he

told an assistant public defender about the beatings by police officers. When he got to Cook County

jail, he told a guard about the beatings and that he was in pain. The next morning, a nurse in the

medical unit saw him and gave him pain medication. Drew was subsequently examined by a doctor

and told the doctor about the beatings. The doctor’s notes indicated marks around Drew’s ribs and

side. His X-rays were admitted into evidence.

¶7 The trial court denied Drew’s motion to suppress evidence of his confession.

-2- No. 1-25-1647

¶8 At trial, Maurice Ruff testified that on the night of the shooting, Drew telephoned him,

came over to his house with codefendant Jeff Lurry, and admitted to shooting Walker for gang-

related reasons. Lurry admitted to abetting Drew. Drew’s written statement admitting to being the

shooter was published to the jury. Ultimately, the jury found Drew guilty of murder.

¶9 On direct appeal, this court noted that while Drew submitted medical testimony as proof

of his injuries, the evidence regarding when the injuries occurred was not established. See People

v. Drew, 326 Ill. App. 3d 1151 (2001) (table) (unpublished order under Illinois Supreme Court

Rule 23). One justice dissented, however, holding that a new trial was warranted because the

claims of abuse were substantiated by medical evidence, and the State failed to prove by clear and

convincing evidence that the confession was voluntarily made and properly obtained. Id.

¶ 10 A. Postconviction Proceedings

¶ 11 In 2018, Drew filed a supplemental postconviction petition arguing that newly discovered

evidence established his actual innocence. He alleged that Ruff had been arrested on weapons and

drug charges and proposed a deal with prosecutors. Ruff, as part of his deal, claimed that Drew

was the shooter and Lurry was the accomplice in the shooting.

¶ 12 In his petition, Drew alleged as new evidence that Lurry now admitted in an affidavit that

he provided false information as part of a “favor” to Ruff so that Ruff could receive a deal. Lurry

apologized to the court and Drew that he “falsely manufactured” a statement against Drew.

¶ 13 Drew also included an affidavit from Ruff recanting his trial testimony and admitting he

had no idea who was responsible for the shooting. Ruff stated that he lied in order to secure a deal

in his own case.

¶ 14 Drew’s petition progressed to a third-stage evidentiary hearing. At the conclusion of the

hearing, the trial court noted that to establish a claim of actual innocence, the supporting evidence

-3- No. 1-25-1647

had to be (1) newly discovered, (2) material and not cumulative, and (3) of such conclusive

character that it would probably change the results on retrial. It stated that the testimony at the

hearing established that in the hours and days after Walker’s murder, several lineups were

conducted, and several people were identified, “none of whom were Petitioner Frank Drew.” No

witness ever mentioned Drew until Ruff came into police custody over a year after the murder.

¶ 15 The court noted that one piece of new evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing was

from Ruff who, in an affidavit, claimed that he lied to police when he told them Drew shot the

victim. The court stated that no physical or forensic evidence linked Drew to the crime, and no

eyewitnesses identified him as being involved in the murder. The only trial evidence linking Drew

to the murder was his own inculpatory statement and Ruff’s now recanted testimony.

¶ 16 The court concluded, “I do find at this time that Maurice Ruff’s affidavit and testimony is

new and material evidence.” It noted that while Drew gave a statement of guilt, a fact finder could

determine that the new evidence, along with the trial evidence, refuted the State’s evidence. The

court stated, “I do find that the petition for postconviction relief and supporting documentation

contain evidence of a conclusive nature that when considered along with the trial evidence would

probably lead to a different result.” The court granted Drew’s postconviction petition and vacated

the conviction, granting Drew a new trial.

¶ 17 More than a year later, the State dropped all charges against Drew.

¶ 18 B. Certificate of Innocence

¶ 19 Drew filed a petition for a certificate of innocence pursuant to section 5-5-4(c) of the

Unified Code of Corrections (Code of Corrections) (730 ILCS 5/5-5-4(c) (West 2024)) “and/or”

section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-702 (West 2024)). At the parties’ joint

request, the court bifurcated the proceedings and considered whether Drew was entitled to a

-4- No. 1-25-1647

certificate of innocence under the Code of Corrections first. The circuit court, which was the same

court that presided over the postconviction proceedings, held that it would not grant a certificate

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People v. Drew, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-drew-illappct-2026.