In July of 1986, less than a month after an Illinois Appellate Court upheld David Hendricks’s conviction on charges that he murdered his wife and three young children in 1983, Hendricks held a press conference inside Menard Correctional Center, the maximum-security prison where he was serving a sentence of natural life.
It was a lengthy event that began with Hendricks doing a point-by-point refutation of the case prosecutors used to convict him. For those of you who’ve followed the case closely or have read my book on the matter, I think you’ll find this recording of his statement very interesting.
You may also be interested in circumstances surrounding the press conference.
Hendricks had received multiple requests from media outlets for an interview inside prison walls. With agreement from prison administrators, Hendricks decided he would invite only reporters who had covered his trial on a full-time basis for an everybody-at-once interview. There would be one exception. One reporter who had covered the trial would not be invited: me (then news director at WJBC Radio in Bloomington). The reason was that Hendricks knew I was writing a book on the case (something he was unhappy about) and he didn’t want to do anything that would advance my effort.
After some negotiation via snail mail, Hendricks agreed to allow me to participate in the July 8th event so long as I asked no questions that would be useful only for a book.
My memory is that five reporters and three photographers found their way to Menard that day. The press conference was held in the prison’s administrative area. (For those of you who watched this spring’s 20/20 on ID television show about the Hendricks murders, it included a photo taken at the event. Hendricks is sitting at a table and you can see a much younger—and thinner—me sitting nearby.)
After Hendricks’s opening statement, he fielded a series of questions from the reporters. I’m gradually posting audio highlights from those exchanges (they follow the opening statement audio file below).
After the press conference (and I remember being amazed by this at the time), Hendricks was allowed to show us around the prison. I remember seeing the law library where he worked. And then—and this really surprised me—he took us into his cellblock and showed us his cell (there’s a shot of this on the TV show, too). I was a little nervous because all the cell doors were open, inmates were roaming the galleries and there weren’t guards anywhere close. Even more dismaying was that two young female photographers were included in the “tour group” and there was so little security present. I can’t imagine how they were feeling.
One observation about Hendricks’s opening statement. He does a pretty objective job of describing the state’s case against him, but he does get a little imprecise as he discusses the prosecution experts’ time-of-death estimates that were so important in both trials.
I’ll be happy to respond to any questions you have about this event that occurred 32 months after the killings and 40 months before Hendricks’s rehearing before the Illinois Supreme Court.
After Hendricks’s lengthy opening statement, I asked the first couple questions. Give a listen.
He said his trial and conviction no doubt affected individual members of the Plymouth Brethren but the matter had no major effect on the fellowship itself.
Hendricks was also asked about the future.
Shortly after the appeals court decision, State’s Attorney Ron Dozier suggested Hendricks could spare Hendricks’s family a lot of pain if he’d just admit his guilt. Hendricks’s response?
And finally, Hendricks was asked whether he intended to continue to try to sway public opinion through the media. Note he’s not particularly pleased that a book was being written by the reporter (me) who was sitting just a few feet away.
Hi Steve,
I just listened to the interviews. Thanks for sharing them. Mr Hendricks sound very articulate and of sound mind. I will need to read your book too to get the better picture:) Take care.
I’ll be interested in your assessment.