While a White County jury convicted Emmit Connely in the summer of 2024 and he subsequently received a 30-year sentence, it appears that conviction could get vacated. All signs as of now point to Connely being let out, and he won’t be tried again on the charges that landed him behind bars for the second time this century according to documents and those close to the case.
In court documents filed on April 30th, a brief confessing error shows an admission of a mistake in that Connely’s right to a unanimous verdict was violated. The controversy surrounds verdict forms the jury was given. Connely had been charged with two separate counts of Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Family Member attached to separate incidents with separate date ranges of the abuse in question. He was also charged with a solitary count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Family Member for a third alleged offense. In an appeal, it’s argued that those jury verdict forms didn’t distinguish between the separate acts or charges. And because the jury found Connely guilty on one count, but not the other, it was unclear as to which event he was being found guilty of and also whether jurors unanimously agreed on which specific act they were finding him guilty.
Read more at Emmit Connely Going Back to IDOC – WRUL-FM
Connely’s defense attorney Melissa Doran says this potential specific occurrence is a rare one she’s not seen in her 25 years as an attorney. She says when a trial is over, it is common for an appeal in which counsel will sometimes provide a laundry list of reasons why the findings should be reconsidered, throwing everything possible against the wall. Doran says because of the verdict forms, it was impossible to determine whether (for example) 7 of the jurors found Connely guilty on Count I with 5 other jurors finding him guilty on Count II.
As to who’s responsible for the error, nobody seems to know who to blame. White County States Attorney Chris Neal says ultimately, it’s his fault and called it a tragedy. It certainly isn’t a good look if the court ends up having a 30-year conviction thrown out on a failure to provide clear instructions to a jury and ensure bases were covered in a clean conviction. That black eye is compounded by the victim who says she was kept from her mother after the trial under the threat of being jailed. Some, including Neal, are adamant that the victim’s mother Amy was a part of the defense. Amy says she was unaware of the full depth of the incidents, that she knew there were allegations, but claims she simply answered the questions she was asked when she was subpoenaed.
Earlier this week, WROY/WRUL News caught up with Amy Connely and her now adult daughter, the victim in the case who agreed to share their reaction. They say they were notified by the States Attorney’s office about two weeks ago and were told that Emmit Connely was most likely going to be let out on a technicality. Amy says she wants an Order of Protection for her daughter and son and when she asked about it, Neal told her one wasn’t in place, but that she could come file for one. He says he encourages the victim to file for one. Amy says the court should feel some responsibility on the mess up. She says the case was investigated for 2 years and officials had plenty of time to get their ducks in a row. Amy says the whole experience opened her eyes to the White County judicial system. She also took issue with workers at the States Attorneys office discussing the case outside of work and says, “there was just so much to this case that was done improperly that it’s no wonder we’re in the position that we’re in.”
At this point, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Emmit Connely is getting out or that his September 2024 conviction will be vacated. It does appear as a very real possibility at this point. There’s no clear timeline from the Appellate Court on that ruling, but we’ll let you know as soon as we get word. Emmit Connely’s Edwards County conviction on a Criminal Sexual Assault of a Family Member charge and Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Victim under the age of 13 still stands. He already served time in the Department of Corrections on that conviction.