Date: Wednesday, September 20, 1995  
Source: By Sue Ellen Christian and Charles Mount, Tribune Staff Writers.   
Section: METRO DU PAGE  
Copyright Chicago Tribune

ALBANESE EXECUTED FOR 3 MURDERS
INNOCENCE MAINTAINED BEFORE LETHAL INJECTION   

   Convicted triple murderer Charles Albanese was executed early Wednesday at
Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, becoming the fourth inmate in
Illinois to be put to death this year.

   Albanese, 58, of Spring Grove, had no last words for the more than 30
official and media witnesses before he was given a dose of lethal drugs. He
was pronounced dead at 12:24 a.m., as about two dozen death-penalty opponents
held a vigil outside the prison grounds.

   In a statement released earlier by his lawyer, Albanese angrily maintained
that he was innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted, the poisoning
deaths of three relatives.

                         ........................

   Albanese was the fourth Illinois prisoner to be executed this year and the
sixth since the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in
1976. One or two more of the 163 other inmates on Death Row in Illinois also
are likely to be executed by the end of the year, said a spokeswoman for
Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan.
------------------------
       COPYRIGHT - CHICAGO TRIBUNE 
       This excerpt was obtained from the Chicago Tribune's 
       archives in the Newstand section of AMERICA ONLINE (aol.com).
       For more information about the Tribune's aol.com services,
       contact:   TribLetter@aol.com

       Additional information about Chicago Tribune electronic resources
       can be found on page 4 of the daily Tribune.