"Not guilty" is not the same as "innocent." That's the ruling from the Illinois Third District Appelate Court in the latest case involving Tabitha Pollock.
The former resident of Henry County was once convicted in connection with the death of her child who was killed by her boyfriend, then the conviction was reversed and she was released from prison.
Now Pollock wants to sue the state, and to do so, she must first receive a "certificate of innocence." And to do that she must convince the courts she was innocent of any crime in connection with the death of her child.
A judge in Henry County rejected her request, and today, so did appelate judges in Ottawa.
In 1996, Pollock was convicted of murder by accountability, that she knew or should have known that live-in boyfriend Scott English was abusing her daughter. She was released from prison in 2002 when the Illinois Supreme Court threw out her conviction. English is serving 50 years for murder.