William Amor leaves the DuPage County courthouse in 2018 after he was acquitted of murder and arson charges stemming from the 1995 death of his mother-in-law. Amor, who has since died, spent 22 years in prison before he was cleared. The Naperville City Council could vote Tuesday on a $22.5 million settlement to a wrongful conviction lawsuit.
Daily Herald File Photo, 2018
Naperville City Council members are scheduled to vote Tuesday on a $25.5 million settlement to a federal wrongful conviction lawsuit.
The proposed agreement comes six weeks after a jury awarded $22.5 million, plus legal fees, to the estate of William Amor, who was acquitted of murder and arson charges in 2018 after a second trial.
Amor, who filed the wrongful conviction lawsuit against Naperville in 2018, died in January 2023.
In exchange for the settlement, Naperville will not appeal the case.
City council members are expected to vote on the proposed settlement Tuesday. The council also will vote on a $7.5 million budget transfer to cover its share of the settlement costs. The city’s insurer will pay the remaining $18 million.
If approved by the council, attorneys will file a motion to bring the settlement before a federal judge, who has final say on the agreement, said Linda LaCloche, Naperville’s director of communications.
The city faced added pre- and post-judgement interest costs and added legal fees if it appealed the case.
“The parties and their respective attorneys further acknowledge that settlement is made to avoid the uncertainty of the outcome of litigation and the expense in time and money of further litigation and for the purpose of judicial economy,” the proposed settlement reads.
Additionally, Naperville denies all allegations of wrongdoing and all parties acknowledge that the settlement is not an admission of liability or unconstitutional conduct. Although the lawsuit names Robert Guerreri and the estate of Michael Cross, both former Naperville police officers, only the city of Naperville is paying out any settlement funds. The settlement blocks Jeanne Olson, the trustee for Amor’s estate, from recovering damages from the officers.
Naperville officials declined further comment on the case. An attorney for Amor’s estate could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
Amor was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1997, after he was convicted of arson and murder in connection with the 1995 death of his mother-in-law, Marianne Miceli, in a condo fire on the 1800 block of Bailey Road in Naperville.
Amor maintained his confession was coerced and experts testified at his second trial that the way he confessed to starting the fire was impossible. The same year he was acquitted, Amor filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that Naperville police officers “reached an agreement among themselves” to frame him.