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SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) — A 77-year-old Washington state man hopes an Illinois judge will help eliminate a stain on his reputation by formally declaring he's innocent of a 7-year-old girl's kidnapping and killing in 1957. A DeKalb County judge is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to grant Jack McCullough a certificate of innocence. Getting one would also enable McCullough to sue Illinois for damages for wrongly convicting him in 2012 of Maria Ridulph's killing. A then-prosecutor concluded last year that evidence backed McCullough's alibi he'd been 40 miles away when Maria disappeared. A judge agreed, ordering McCullough's release after serving four years of a life sentence. McCullough said at a hearing last week his reputation isn't restored. He says he's "been put forward as a monster" and that people still think he's one.

Judge to rule on request to certify innocence in '57 killing