Woman Convicted In Daycare Death To Get Clemency Hearing

CARPENTERSVILLE, IL — A former daycare worker convicted of first-degree murder for throwing a 16-month-old boy to the ground and causing a fatal head injury will seek clemency from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board next month.

The Daily Herald is reporting Melissa Calusinski, 37, will hear Calusinski's clemency request on July 9 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. The PRB will then make a recommendation to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on whether clemency should be granted.

A Lake County jury found Calusinki guilty of the murder of Benjamin King, of Deerfield, in 2011, and a state's appeals court upheld that ruling in 2014. Calusinksi has been fighting for her freedom on the claims that her confession was coerced.

Calusinski, of Carpenterville, has been in custody since 2009, when she was charged with Kingan’s murder. She is serving a 31-year prison sentence for his murder.

An autopsy at that time of Kingan's death showed the boy suffered a skull fracture that led to his death.

During a nine-hour interrogation, Calusinski repeatedly denied hurting the boy, but she eventually confessed to slamming Kingan’s head on the floor shortly before he was found unresponsive, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The autopsy results along with Calusinski's confession led to her conviction. The case has gotten national attention and has been featured in the past on CBS News' "48 Hours."

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