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Former death-row inmate Steidl says he's still 'trying to survive'

Posted January 08, 2008 10:00 pm

Sarah Antonacci

Randy Steidl and Herb Whitlock were acquaintances who would run into each other at the bars around Paris, Ill.

They became co-defendants in a 1986 double-murder case for which they both were sent to prison - Steidl to death row.

For 17 years, they maintained their innocence and, with the help of others who believed in them, fought for a chance at the truth.

Four years ago, Steidl won his freedom, and every day since, he said he's thought about Whitlock. And then came the news that Whitlock, too, would be freed.

"It's gonna be an adjustment for him," Steidl said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "No one telling him what to do or what time to do it, or when to eat or when to take a bath. I hope he has time to be off to himself and collect his thoughts and praise God he's got his freedom."

Steidl, whose case was profiled by The State Journal-Register in 2004, is now 56.

He spent 12 of his 17 years in prison on death row, sometimes stuffing his ears so cockroaches wouldn't crawl into them. Since shortly after his release, he's been living in Missouri, where he first worked construction and then moved to a factory job.

"I'm trying to survive. It's not easy. You take one day at a time. But it's still a lot better than where I came from," he said.

Steidl said he has been in counseling for three years in an attempt to "put all the issues you've had to deal with aside and look forward to planning your next day and the rest of your life instead of dwelling on the past. You can't do that or it will eat you up. Time is very limited, so I try to enjoy it."

In 2005, Steidl filed a federal lawsuit accusing former and current law enforcement officials, the city of Paris and Edgar County of violating his constitutional rights by keeping him in prison for a murder he and others say he didn't commit. The suit is set to go to trial on March 30, 2009.

He said one of the hardest issues to deal with is his belief that there are people in law enforcement who have known from the start that he and Whitlock did not murder newlyweds Dyke and Karen Rhoads, but they refused to do anything about it.

"Hopefully the Rhoads family will one day get justice," Steidl said. "That's what people should be concerned about now. Those people have suffered a loss that will never be replaced. The state of Illinois owes them a very long explanation and a truthful explanation."

Sarah Antonacci can be reached at (217) 788-1529.

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