Archer convicted of manslaughter
Peoria Journal Star, The (IL)
Putnam jury rejects murder verdict in child's death
Author: JESSICA L. ABERLE
HENNEPIN - After a judge denied a Putnam County jury's request for clarification on the definition of first-degree murder, the jury on Friday convicted Matthew Archer of a lesser involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of a 3-year-old Granville girl.
The jury's possible misinterpretation of the burden of proof necessary for a murder conviction may have influenced the ultimate verdict, which took only 2 1/2 hours to reach, Putnam County State's Attorney James Mack said outside court.
"I was a little disappointed that it didn't come back first-degree murder," said Mack, adding that since the jury question dealt with understanding the murder charge, "I think that definitely could have made a difference in the outcome."
Mack objected to the involuntary manslaughter option suggested by the defense and ultimately included in jury instruction by Circuit Judge Scott Shore.
Archer, 28, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child and faced a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison for causing the death of Jordan Cain. Archer's responsibility for the death was undisputed.
On the night of Oct. 24, 2003, the 153-pound man's knee went all the way through the smallish child's abdomen, bruising her bowel, diaphragm and spinal column and ultimately rupturing the fat pad and arteries that connect the internal organs to the abdominal wall.
She died about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 25 in surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
The defense argued Archer's knee buckled as he attempted to pick Cain up after accidentally dropping her to the floor.
"The responsibility (Archer) feels, the moral and the eternal - that's punishment," defense attorney Kevin Sullivan told the jury.
Special prosecutor Chuck Zalar, however, contended medical evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Jordan Cain's injuries were not the result of an accident.
"It would take something like a knee drop, a completely intentional knee drop, something like a wrestling move that the defendant is very familiar with," Zalar said.
In the fourth day of testimony, jurors heard additional evidence from Archer before closing arguments.
Under cross-examination, Archer testified he never told emergency personnel, doctors or nurses at St. Margaret's Hospital in Spring Valley or even family members what happened to Jordan that night.
Archer said he was scared to tell his then fiancee and now wife - Janice Schryer Archer, also Jordan's aunt and foster mother - that he caused the injuries.
"You were more afraid to take responsibility for your actions than to tell doctors something that could save Jordan's life?" Zalar questioned.
"Yes," Archer replied.
"You're my hero," Zalar muttered sarcastically to the admonishment of Judge Shore.
Also under cross-exam-ination, Archer admitted lying to investigators and during his trial.
His inconsistencies led his attorney to ask that the jurors receive the option of convicting on involuntary manslaughter.
"I consider this to be a very favorable verdict," Sullivan said, adding that his client received a "very clean trial." Sullivan said he didn't know if there would be an appeal.
As Shore read the verdict, Archer said emotionless. His wife bowed her head and wept quietly.
Archer faces five to 10 years in prison on the Class 3 felony conviction, because it qualifies for an extended term due to the victim's young age.
Archer had been free on bond since November. Shore revoked the bond and remanded Archer to custody. The defense requested a psychological exam before sentencing, set for Nov. 4.
Jordan Cain's parents cried when the conviction came in at less than murder.
"It's not enough time. It's not enough time," said Brian Cain, although he later added the manslaughter conviction was better than nothing. "She was only 3."
A distraught Christy Cain - Jordan's mother and Schryer Archer's sister - only wept louder when asked to comment on the verdict.
Brian Cain said the young couple battled drug addictions and voluntarily gave Jordan and her two siblings to the care of the Department of Children and Family Services.
"We thought we could trust them to care for them properly. Not beat them because they were tired," Brian Cain said, adding that in his mind Archer was "100 percent" guilty of murder. The Archer family declined to comment.