July 04, 2025
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Exonerated Richmond man donates grant to Compassion for Campers

By Northwest Herald staff report
Gary Gauger, 70, takes a break from working on a truck Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, on his farm near Richmond. He was wrongfully convicted in his parents' murder and then exonerated after members of the Outlaw motorcycle gang were named and convicted. One of those bikers was recently denied in his request for compassionate release from prison. Gauger still lives and farms near the property his parents owned and where they were killed.

Gary Gauger, 70, takes a break from working on a truck Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, on his farm near Richmond. He was wrongfully convicted in his parents' murder and then exonerated after members of the Outlaw motorcycle gang were named and convicted. One of those bikers was recently denied in his request for compassionate release from prison. Gauger still lives and farms near the property his parents owned and where they were killed. (Gregory Shaver - gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver - gshaver@shawmedia.com)

Gary Gauger, a Richmond man who was convicted of his parents’ murders and spent almost three years on death row before being exonerated, recently received a $900 grant from Witness to Innocence, a nonprofit that offers support to death row exonerees.

Instead of keeping the money, Gauger donated the amount to Compassion for Campers, which supplies camping gear and supplies to the homeless in McHenry County, according to the release.

Gauger’s connection to Compassion for Campers is personal, according to the release. His wife, Sue Rekenthaler, launched Compassion for Campers with fellow Tree of Life U.U. Congregation members Lisa Jacobsen and Bob Tirk.

The organization was meant to serve McHenry County PADS clients during the months of April through September when the previous system rotating church shelters were closed.

Rekenthaler met Gauger after becoming involved in his defense efforts with the Innocence Project and Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. When he was exonerated and released, Rekenthaler accompanied Gauger on speaking engagements. The couple eventually married.

After COVID-19 shut down most services for the homeless, Compassion for Campers shifted gears and tried to provide essential items yearround, according to the release. Currently, distributions are offered at the Community Empower Shower events at Willow Crystal Lake on the first and third Mondays of every month.

The program is now serving more of the unhoused than ever, which has led to challenges in raising sufficient money to purchase the needed gear and supplies, the organization said in the release. Gauger’s donation was enough to fund supplies for about one month.

Donations can be made to the Tree of Life Unitarian Congregation by check with Compassion for Campers on the memo line or online noting the designation of the donation. All donations are placed in a dedicated fund that cannot be used for any other purpose.

Tree of Life provides all administration at no cost, so the funds go directly to aiding the homeless.

For information, contact Tree of Life Social Justice Chair and Compassion for Campers coordinator Patrick Murfin at pmurfin@sbcglobal.net or call 815-814-5645.

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