Brian Beals awarded a Certificate of Innocence by Circuit Court of Cook County, clearing him of involvement in 1988 death of a 6-year-old boy and shooting of boy’s mother

CHICAGO (June 16, 2025) – Brian Beals received something he’s waited for since 1988 – an official acknowledgment that he is innocent. Beals was awarded a Certificate of Innocence by the Circuit Court of Cook County this morning, which cannot give Beals back the devastating 35 years he wrongfully spent in prison, but is an important validation of Beals’s innocence.   

Romanucci & Blandin, LLC and Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, LLC represent Beals in his civil litigation against the City of Chicago and four officers and detectives for their roles in Beals’s wrongful conviction and incarceration. A civil lawsuit was filed in December 2024, one year after his release from a downstate Illinois prison. During his incarceration, Beals mentored and befriended many young men, wrote a play, and advocated for his own freedom.  

Brian Beals grew up in the Englewood neighborhood, went on to attend school at Southern Illinois University, and by all accounts was an all-around good guy with a bright future. Around Englewood, he coached Little League and could often be found playing football or catch with younger kids. Like much of his family, Beals was always one to do good and look out for others. In fact, Beals aspired to become a police officer, just as his beloved family members went on to have lauded careers in the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Public Schools, and in other noteworthy and accomplished fields.  

All of this changed on January 24, 1990, when Beals was wrongfully convicted of murder and aggravated battery and was ultimately sentenced to 85 years in prison. His conviction arose out of the shooting of six-year-old Demetrius Campbell and his mother, Valerie Campbell, on November 16, 1988. Demetrius died from the gunshot wounds, while Ms. Campbell was injured but survived. The Campbells were innocent bystanders, tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a very different way, so was Brian Beals.  

On the day of the shooting, Beals was involved in a verbal argument just outside of his home on W. 60th in Englewood. Sensing trouble, Beals got in his car to leave, but as he did so, someone stepped out from the alley and opened fire at the back of his car as Beals was driving away. Tragically, errant gunfire hit the Campbell family as they were walking down the street.   

Beals was the intended target of the gunfire that hit the Campbells, but in a mystifying twist of fate, within minutes, he went from being a would-be homicide victim to the lone suspect accused of shooting the Campbells. There was no physical evidence connecting Beals to the shootings, nor did he have any motive to commit them. At the same time, there were numerous witnesses who confirmed that someone else shot the Campbells. But truth and integrity meant nothing to the Chicago Police Department’s notoriously corrupt detective, Thomas Ptak, his partner, Michael Duffin, and the other police officers involved in the malicious prosecution and wrongful conviction. Knowing that Brian Beals was innocent, the Defendant CPD Officers and Detectives fabricated evidence, manipulated witnesses, buried evidence and information that would have exonerated Beals, and lied in official reports and on the stand at trial.   

Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Senior Attorney Joshua Levin and Attorney Patrick Driscoll, together with Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge Founding Partner Brian Eldridge, Partner John Marrese and Attorney Paige Smith represent Beals. Lauren Kaeseberg with the Illinois Innocence Project and Laura Nirider with And Justice for All were instrumental in Beals’s release from prison.  

“There is a wide range of emotions I’m feeling today, having received the Certificate of Innocence. Validation. Relief. But also, sadness for the 35 years I spent in prison and how that impacted my family - and the many events, milestones, and personal losses I could not experience firsthand all those years.  My commitment now to myself and to my community is to tell my story through my writing, performance, the Mud Theatre Project where I am Executive Director, and mentoring others so together we can do better, be better as a community,” said Brian Beals, following receiving his Certificate of Innocence on June 16, 2025. 

“We are very pleased by the Court’s decision to award Brian Beals his Certificate of Innocence. It has been a long time coming. Brian’s conviction was a grave miscarriage of justice. He lost out on so much of life by being wrongfully incarcerated, and truth be told, we lost out on Brian. He is so gifted, so creative, and so impactful. Brian has been doing incredible things for his community since his release. We are proud and privileged to represent him,” said McLaughlin & Eldridge Partner Brian Eldridge.  

“These Certificates of Innocence are intensely validating for those who have been wrongly convicted, something we’ve seen far too often in Chicago. As our community continues to awaken and advocate for those whose lives have been devastated by wrongful incarceration, we will continue to press forward seeking justice and trying to restore trust in the Chicago police,” said Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci.   

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC 

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death. For more than 25 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars and others record-setting awards.  Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors differentiate our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We are different from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured.  We are often inspired by our clients’ experiences and commit resources to create change in our communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000. 

About Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge 

Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, LLC (“HME”) is a firm of trial lawyers specializing in civil rights, mass tort, and class action cases. The attorneys at HME practice on a nationwide basis in both federal and state courts and are actively involved in some of the largest and most significant cases in the country. HME attorneys are invested in the fight for justice and consistently take on cases to advance civil justice and equal rights. HME prides itself on winning complex cases, fiercely advocating for its clients, and being a driving force behind civil and social change in Chicago and throughout the country. HME’s civil rights practice includes cases involving wrongful convictions, wrongful shootings, police brutality, and unconstitutional policing.  HME has also successfully challenged police policies through civil rights and class action cases in both Illinois in elsewhere. For more information about Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge please visit www.hmelegal.com or call (312) 955-0545.