Judge Grants Continuance in Sheley Case

katfish covers the Nicholas Sheley Case!

Today (Friday, September 26th) on my way to the Knox County courthouse in Galesburg, Illinois I noticed that even though it feels like a warm summer day you can see the changes of Autumn starting to take place. IMO there is no place more beautiful during the Fall than the Midwest. Driving the short distance (4miles) from my house to Galesburg there are fields of corn standing tall ready to be harvested and soy bean crops that look like a carpet of lemon-colored coins rolling across the land. Yes folks, this is serious "amber waves of grain" stuff. I'll admit it, I feel a little patriotic about now. LOL

This is my second trip this week to a hearing for Nicholas T. Sheley, a 29 year old Sterling, Il man accused in the deaths of eight people in a two-state killing spree in late June.

In Galesburg, he is charged in the death of Ronald Randall, age 65 of Galesburg. It is alleged that Sheley kidnapped Randall from a car wash, robbed him, bludgeoned him to death and dumped his body behind a grocery-store near a dumpster before stealing his 2007 Chevy pick-up.

There are 7 more victims whose story will be told in a court of law and this blog later on, but for now I want to focus on this case. Sometimes it seems as if victims get lost in the legal shuffle.

I can tell you that "shots of light" of who Ronald Randall was are already starting to "shine" through. His family is in court every hearing and they are usually the first ones there. You can tell he was a good brother and Dad and they are in court for him.

After today's hearing WQAD reporter Chris Minor interviewed 2 men who said they were long time friends of Ronald. They had all worked at the Maytag factory in Galesburg for many years. The men said that Randall had worked well over 30 years at Maytag and had worked until the last day the plant operated (factory moved to Mexico #%*#). You could really sense the pride and love that they felt for Ronald as they spoke.

One last patriotic word before I go into the details of the hearing. As Americans we all have the same constitutional right to a fair trial. Whether he deserves it or not (depends who you ask) Nicholas Sheley will have a fair trial. At hearings on September 11, 19 and 24 and in recent interviews Sheley has requested a speedy trial and expressed his unhappiness with his defense counsel. The judge has heard him loud and clear but until Sheley has been proven fit to stand trial and wave his right to counsel, he will just have to wait like the rest of us. Part of this hearing today is to determine which side will be charged with the delay. Continue reading at katfish ponders. . .

CNN.Crime