Special Report: Dale Dean Finch up for parole in teens' 1976 murders

Convict: Dale Dean Finch, born Oct. 21, 1956
Killed: Michael Pixler, 17, and Randall Morton, 16, on Christmas Eve 1976. The teenagers reported to work at 4 p.m. at a Citgo gas station at 15th Avenue and 11th Street in Rockford. Two hours later, Finch walked in, took $600 from the station and shot each boy in the head with a .22 caliber revolver. Pixler's brother, Doug Pixler, and a friend, Dino McNabb, found the bodies later that night.
Sentence: According to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Finch received two consecutive 50- to 100-year prison terms for the murders and four to 12 years for the robbery.
Custody date: May 18, 1977
Resides: Centralia Correctional Center, just east of St. Louis in southwestern Illinois
Letters of protest: In 2006, Michael Pixler's mother, Shirley Guthrie, presented letters and more than 6,456 names on a petition against Finch's parole. Nearly 2,400 people signed electronic petitions on rrstar.com to keep Finch in prison. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board on Feb. 15, 2006 unanimously denied Finch parole. Parole denied: 18 times
Parole hearing: Feb. 3, 2009
Early petitions: Feb. 13, 2009 (mailed)
Final petitions: Feb. 20, 2009 (electronic)
Parole decision: Feb. 26, 2009

By signing this petition you understand that your name can become public record. Although the Prisoner Review Board fights the release of names on petitions, and the courts generally have protected the names, those names of those signing the petition may at some point be released publicly.