BELLEVILLE – St. Clair County jurors acquitted Lee Griffin of Belleville on a felony charge of aggravated battery on July 26, after deliberating for 36 minutes.
In an interview on July 29, he said, “It was a waste of taxpayer’s money and the judge’s time.”
Last time Griffin placed his fate in the hands of a jury, it took him 15 years to overturn their verdict.
"This time I knew God was with me," he said. “Whenever I walk into a courtroom now, God goes before me.”
Belleville police booked him for misdemeanor battery in 2020, on a complaint from Lissa Stallings-Boone.
She claimed Griffin stopped his vehicle, snatched her dog, punched her in the head, and sped away.
She claimed she needed four stitches to close a wound.
A doctor who saw her after the incident reported that her breathing was normal, her cardiovascular signs were regular, and she spoke full sentences.
Griffin claimed the dog belonged to him but she obtained a court order to return it.
Prosecutors of state’s attorney James Gomric upgraded the charge to a felony by alleging great bodily harm.
At trial, Griffin said, prosecutors conceded that the dog belonged to him.
He testified in his own defense, saying he raised a stiff arm to keep Stallings-Boone away from his dog and she ran into his hand.
His daughter Shania Griffin testified.
In an interview she said, “The main thing is, I wanted my dog back. I wanted to explain how that hurt me because a dog is a part of your family.”
Her father said Belleville police master sergeant Craig Stafford testified for him as a character witness, telling jurors they knew each other for years.
“He was my chief witness," Lee Griffin said.
He called his counsel Tom Philo the best public defender in the courthouse.
"Tom had that jury eating out of his hand because the facts were there,” he said,
He said he couldn’t have asked for a better judge than Circuit Judge John O’Gara, calling him fair and thorough.
“This case should have never come to trial," he said. “This could have messed my whole life and record up.”
He said Stallings-Boone still had his dog.
In 1981, jurors convicted Griffin of murder after hearing evidence against him and another suspect.
Griffin appealed, claiming the attorney who represented both suspects operated under a conflict of interest and provided ineffective assistance.
Fifth District judges granted another trial but the Supreme Court reversed them.
Griffin petitioned U. S. district court for habeas corpus relief in 1991, and Magistrate Judge Gerald Cohn denied it.
Seventh Circuit appellate judges found Cohn didn’t explain his decision, and they sent the case back to him.
He granted relief and the state appealed.
Seventh Circuit judges affirmed Cohn in 1996, and ordered Griffin’s release.
He operates a thrift store on North Belt West and shares his experience and knowledge with those he finds at risk of injustice.