RANDY STEIDL'S ORDEAL

The bathroom in Randy Steidl's two-bedroom Springfield apartment is about twice the size of the "filthy cage" where he spent 12 years on death row. On either side of the doorway hang two framed front pages chronicling May 28, 2004 — the day Steidl walked out of an Illinois prison with $23.90 and what was left of his life after being locked up for a total of 17 years. That's a lot considering Steidl, 53, fully expected to die at the sterile hand of the state for a crime he says he didn't commit. "I thought, 'They're going to murder me. They're going to strap me down and put that needle in my arm,'" he said. "... Every appeal that failed, I knew I was getting that much closer to being strapped down."

In 1987, Gordon Randall Steidl and co-defendant Herb Whitlock were convicted of murdering a Paris, Ill., couple in July 1986. The stated motive: a drug deal gone awry. Dyke and Karen Rhoads were stabbed to death and their apartment set on fire. Circumstantial evidence presented by police and prosecutors implicated Steidl and Whitlock, both of whom jurors found guilty. Steidl, who had previous assault convictions, was sentenced to death. "I went from my apartment to death row in 94 days, wondering, 'How did this happen?'" Steidl said in a recent interview with the News-Leader.

In 1999, Steidl's death sentence was commuted to life in prison when a judge ruled that his trial attorney — whose specialty was defending clients against drunken-driving charges — didn't adequately prepare for the sentencing hearing. And last year, a federal judge who reviewed Steidl's case ruled that a jury acquittal was "reasonably probable" had his attorney provided adequate legal counsel.

Prosecutors elected not to refile charges against Steidl, who moved to the Ozarks with his ex-wife eight days after reciting his prisoner number — N72890 — one last time and walking out the front door of the Danville Correctional Center.

On the one-year anniversary of his release, Steidl filed a federal lawsuit against city, county and state officials whose investigation led to his arrest and conviction. Defendants include a former police chief, former county prosecutor and state police officials who allegedly ordered one of their own to drop a 2000 investigation of the double homicide because it was "too politically sensitive."

Steidl's case was featured on the CBS newsmagazine "48 Hours" in 2001, and the show will run a follow-up story some time next month. A crew interviewed Steidl in Springfield three weeks ago.....

In the early 1990s, Steidl was stabbed seven times in the prison yard for refusing to take part in a hunger strike protesting the execution of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Gacy, who lured young victims to his house by dressing as a clown, was convicted of killing 33 people. "I told one gang chief they should execute Gacy 33 times," Steidl said. "In my book, he was a poster child for death row." .....

While on death row, Steidl began the nightly ritual of praying he would die in his sleep. "I'd ask God, 'Please don't let me wake up. I'm tired of doing this,'" he recalled.....

Steidl said he sleeps only five or six hours each night. He thinks a lot about how his life turned out so different than expected. While he was on death row, 13 men were executed. Steidl knew seven of them pretty well. "I watched those seven walk to their death," he said. "It's a pretty surreal situation when you see that. You live with that every day."

Michael Metnick, Steidl's defense attorney in Springfield, Ill., said his client's inner strength and spirit of perseverance have been inspiring. "Randy has not ... walked around with outward anger, or expecting people to feel sorry for him," Metnick said.

Steidl hopes the lawsuit will finally reveal the truth and lead to his formal exoneration. Although technically a free man, he's been told he's still a suspect in the slayings. Illinois appellate prosecutor David Rands confirmed that Steidl is, in fact, a suspect and that the case is still under investigation almost 20 years after the murders. "You win, but you don't win," Steidl said. "You get your freedom, but we're gonna put the scarlet letter on you when you walk out."

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