The man previously convicted of killing 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton in 2013 will remain in custody as he awaits a new trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Micheail Ward’s conviction was thrown out by the Illinois Appellate Court in March 2023, after a three-judge panel ruled his videotaped confession was inadmissible, because Ward repeatedly told detectives he didn’t want to talk to them.
In Ward’s videotaped confession, he told police he fired shots at Hadiya and her friends because he believed they were rival gang members and was seeking revenge, but claimed he only opened fire because co-defendant Kenneth Williams threatened to kill him if he didn’t.
“The detectives temporarily halted the interrogation each time Mr. Ward said he had nothing else to say, nothing to say, and did not want to say anything else. However, Mr. Ward was never given a fresh set of Miranda warnings, and the detectives never interrogated Mr. Ward about anything other than the shooting of Ms. Pendleton. The statements Mr. Ward made after he invoked his right to remain silent are therefore inadmissible, and the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress them,” Illinois Appellate Court Justice Mary Mikva wrote in the ruling.
In January, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected Cook County prosecutors’ appeal of that ruling, and on Tuesday a Cook County judge ordered Ward to remain in custody at Cook County Jail while he awaits his new trial. Ward is due back in court on May 5.
After Tuesday’s hearing, Ward’s family said, “we want a fair trial.”
Defense attorney Stephen Richards said he will appeal the judge’s ruling that Ward remain in custody while he awaits a new trial, arguing, “The evidence against him, frankly, in our view, is laughable.”
“All of the witnesses gave different descriptions. None of them match Mr. Ward,” Richards said.
Richards also claimed that police coerced witnesses into falsely identifying Ward as the gunman, and he’s confident that Ward will be acquitted at his second trial.
Ward was sentenced to 84 years in prison after he was convicted in 2018 of shooting and killing Hadiya at Harsh Park a block away from King College Prep High School in 2013.
Just weeks earlier, Hadiya was in Washington D.C. performing for President Obama’s second inauguration as a majorette in her school’s band. The shooting happened less than a mile from Obama’s home in the Kenwood neighborhood.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said they disagree with the decision for a new trial, but are set on securing justice for Hadiya, her family, and friends who continue to mourn her to this day.
Ward’s co-defendant, accused getaway driver Kenneth Williams, is serving a 42-year sentence for his role in the killing.
