Two Men Charged With 141 Counts Of Murder For Hadiya Pendleton Shooting

Two Men Charged With 141 Counts Of Murder For Hadiya Pendleton Shooting

Charges have finally been filed and a “not guilty” plea entered on behalf of the defendants charged with the sensless murder of 15-year-old Chicago native Hadiya Pendleton in January.

via Huffington Post

Two men pleaded not guilty Thursday – one to 141 counts of first-degree murder – in the shooting death of a 15-year-old Chicago girl who performed at President Barack Obama’s inaugural festivities days before she died.

Both Michael Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and a long list of other charges in Hadiya Pendleton’s death.

She was shot Jan. 29 after she and her friends sought shelter from the rain in a city park.

Ward and Williams had been hunting for rival gang members and Pendleton was an innocent bystander, prosecutors say.

Some of the attempted murder counts and other charges relate to Pendleton’s friends who were in the park with her. But Granich said he still couldn’t fathom how prosecutors ended up with so many counts.

Hopefully Hadiya’s family will be provided the justice they deserve as this case continues.