Wife of convicted Bloomington man revisits his case amid Supreme Court petition

Photo provided by Denise Daniels

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – In November 2013, a Bloomington man was sentenced to 47 years in prison for his involvement in a 2012 gang fight between two rival gangs, the MOBs and the BOMs.

DeAndre Daniels was 26-years-old at the time and was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. He was found guilty on all counts and is currently serving behind bars.

DeAndre Daniels’ wife, Denise Daniels, shared that she believes this is a case of wrongful conviction and a shocking piece of information that came from the victim.

“The witness himself said that he never seen DeAndre or met DeAndre Daniels. It was a couple of eye-witnesses that said they didn’t see him there neither. There’s no physical evidence that ties him to this crime,” she said.

DeAndre has been serving his sentence for 10 years and even a decade after his conviction, it still impacts his family daily. 

“DeAndre is very uplifting and spiritual, so he kind of holds the family together,” she said. “It affected the family because we’re missing him, like he’s not there like as far as gatherings and just knowing that he’s in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. Sentenced to 47 years, that’s a huge impact to us.”

Although DeAndre had a court date set, none of his family believed he would get sentenced. They poured every ounce of faith into the justice system and were shocked to find that faith alone was not enough.

“We had faith in the justice system that they would want to do the right thing, so we didn’t make a big deal out of it because we knew he didn’t do it,” Daniels said. “They want to release them, and so when they convicted him, we were thinking, ‘Okay, maybe they missed something they messed up’ but knowing that it’s 11 years later and they’re not trying to budge, they’re not even trying to put those reductions in because if they did, he wouldn’t have 47 years.”

DeAndre Daniels’ family continues to make strides for him daily so he can get the freedom they believe he so rightfully deserves after serving over a decade.

“Right now, we have it where we just submitted a petition with the Supreme Court, so hopefully, in the next 3 months, we should know something whether they want to accept it or not. If not, we’re working with NLPA to see what they can help us get back in court,” Daniels said. 

The family says they have had a long fight to get DeAndre Daniels free from prison, but that is nothing compared to the time he’s missed out on since his conviction. His wife shares that she will do anything it takes to see her husband come home.

“I know that DeAndre is 100% innocent. I know that I won’t stop fighting for him until he’s released. I know his character. He’s a man of faith, and he’s not into drama. I believe that the justice system does not know mercy, and I wish something could be done,” Daniels said.