A lawyer for the late Chester Weger said Monday (the first anniversary of Weger’s death) he’s filed a petition for posthumous clemency.

Andy Hale said at a Monday news conference that he has new evidence to be presented to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. The press conference was covered by several Chicago media outlets.

A call left with the board on Monday seeking a copy of Hale’s pleading was not immediately returned.

Weger spent almost six decades in prison for killing Lillian Oetting, one of three women fatally bludgeoned in 1960 at Starved Rock State Park.

Although he confessed to all three murders, he recanted and spent the rest of his life arguing, with no success, that he had been framed or railroaded.

Judge Michael C. Jansz issued a June 18, 2025, ruling against Weger. Hale pledged to pursue Weger’s bid for exoneration – “The fat lady hasn’t sung,” Hale said then – but Weger died four days later.