Anthony Mertz Anthony Mertz was sentenced to death in Coles County on Feb. 26, 2003 for the June 2001 murder of a fellow Eastern Illinois University student, Shannon McNamara. The evidence at trial raised doubts as to whether Mertz was fully in control of his actions. His early life was marked by physical abuse and what one expert called " catastrophic neglect. " While serving in the Marines, he was dosed with an anti-malaria drug, Lariam, which has been linked to long-term violent, suicidal and psychotic symptoms. Mertz had sought treatment for alcoholism and suicidal thoughts. He had also drunk massive amounts of alcohol on the night of the murder, and testified at his sentencing hearing that he had "blacked out, remembering nothing the next day. In addition, crime scene expert Patrick Wright testified. Wright ' s testimony -- based on controversial and unproven theories--was used to link Mertz to an earlier unsolved murder for which he was never charged, and to assert that Ms. McNamara's killer had been rational and "well-organized." Three jailhouse snitches also testified. ©2005 Illinois Coalition to Abolish The Death Penalty |
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